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Knights bid retiring coaches a farewell at annual dinner

By Howard B. Owens

Jim Bonacquisti roasted retiring Le Roy football coaches Andrew Paladino and Brian Moran at the team's annual post-season dinner Sunday at the Stafford Fire Hall.

Paladino spent 30 years as the Oatkan Knights' defensive coordinator. Moran was the head coach for 26 seasons and retired with 203 wins, a state championship and 14 sectional titles.

The other coaches presented Paladino and Moran with rocking chairs.

JV Assistant Coach Jeff Condidorio was presented with a signed football by Moran. Condidorio is retiring after nearly 40 years with the football program.

Moran called each player to the podium and spoke briefly about their season and their career with the team. The seniors each received a miniature, mounted football helmet with their numbers on it. Here he's with QB Mike McMullen.

A slide show of more pictures will be posted later.

Moreland Commission reviewed Hawley's records and found no issues

By Howard B. Owens

The now-defunct Moreland Commission took three months to review Assemblyman Steve Hawley's financial and business records and found nothing amiss, Hawley told a luncheon in Orleans County on Friday.

“There’s an old adage: ‘If you have nothing to hide, comply,’ ” Hawley said.

Orleans Hub reports that Hawley turned over a list of clients, employees, family members, advertisements, political materials, income taxes and property taxes. It was an exhaustive collection of documents.

Besides sitting in the Assembly, Hawley owns an insurance business based in Batavia.

The three-month review to see if Hawley was making money in kickbacks or abusing his public office for financial gain found Hawley was not misusing his office. Everything was clear.

Hawley's remarks came shortly after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested on federal charges for allegedly taking kickbacks. Silver has temporarily stepped down from his leadership position.

The Moreland Commission was disbanded by Gov. Andrew Cuomo before its work was seemingly complete, a decision that was controversial at the time and has been reexamined in light of the charges against Silver.

For more on the story, visit Orleans Hub.

Law and Order: Brother and sister charged in alleged choking incident

By Howard B. Owens

Julian Munoz, 63, of Transit Road, Elba, and Carmelina Chavez, 47, of Drake Street, Oakfield, are charged with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and harassment, 2nd. Munoz and Chavez, brother and sister, allegedly choked and pushed a victim down a flight of stairs. 

Heather Jaye Interlicchia, 55, of Ramona Street, Rochester, is charged with possession of more than 400 untaxed cigarettes. Interlicchia was stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 12:08 p.m. Sunday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Windfield L. Marshall, 44, of Lake Street, Le Roy, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to pay fine on a parking violation. Marshall turned himself in and posted $25 bail.

Khadijah Azizza Davis, 23, of Arnett Boulevard, Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd, unlicensed driver and speeding in zone. Davis was stopped at 11:49 p.m. Wednesday on Clinton Street, Batavia, by Officer Jason Davis, for allegedly driving 47 in a 30 mph zone. Davis was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Kasean L. Shannon, 22, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Shannon was allegedly found in possession of marijuana during police contact with Officer Marc Lawrence while on Washington Avenue at 1:37 p.m. Wednesday.

Chana J. Mitchell, 22, of Prospect Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, charge. Mitchell turned himself in and jailed on $200 bail.

Joseph Michael Marceill, 47, of Pringle Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear on a driving while registration suspended or revoked charge. Marceill turned himself in, was arraigned and released on his own recognizance. 

Cynthia C. Richardson, 35, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with a curfew violation. Richardson was arrested after police responded to a report of a fight at 1:29 a.m. Saturday on Court Street. Richardson's 14-year-old son was allegedly located on Evans Street near Ellicott Street at 1:34 a.m.

Donna A. Cocoran, 41, of St. Mary's Street, Pavilion, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, and suspended registration. Cocoran was stopped at 12:49 p.m. on Elm Street, Batavia, by Officer Eric Foels.

Samuel J. Barber, 20, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of alcohol under age 21. Barber was arrested following a complaint of a party at 12:32 a.m. Sunday on Bank Street, Batavia. Barber was allegedly hosting the party along with two other individuals. Also charged were Abdullah B. Diallo, 19, of Bank Street, Batavia, and Seanmichael G. Kidder, 19, of Bank Street, Batavia.

Robert Jean Jackson, 38, of Albert Street, Oakfield, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding in zone and failure to change address on license. Jackson was stopped at 1:17 a.m., Saturday, on Main Street, Oakfield, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Justin L. Sanders, 23, of Byron, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Sanders was arrested by State Police and jailed on an unspecified bail. No further information released.

Allison A. Sobczak, 23, of Batavia, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI. Sobczak was stopped at 11:02 a.m. Friday in the Town of Batavia by State Police.

UPDATE: Later today, State Police put out a press release on Sobczak's arrest.  Here's a portion of it:

Sobczak arrived to the Batavia barracks to file a complaint when Troopers smelled an odor of alcoholic beverage coming from her. After her verbal admission that she drove to the barracks, she was detained for a DWI investigation. After Sobczak failed the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, she was placed under arrest for DWI. 

Sobczak was arrested and escorted back to the patrol room where she registered a BAC of .24%. She was issued citations returnable to the Town of Batavia Court on January 29, 2015.

Katrina M. Jones, 46, of Buffalo, is charged with conspiracy, 5th, and grand larceny, 4th. Jones was arrested by State Police and held on an unspecified bail. No further information released.

Christopher F. Bragg, 29, of Corfu, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd, and scheme to defraud, 2nd. Bragg was arrested by State Police. No further information released.

Photo: Solo singers at Batavia Middle School

By Howard B. Owens

Jules Hoepting, a student at Oakfield-Alabama, warms up before her graded soloist performance at Batavia Middle School on Saturday.

Vocal soloists from throughout Genesee County converged on the school for a series of performances that could be part of their grade (depending on the school) and used to determine who will be part of an all-county music recital in March.

The program is organized by the Genesee-Wyoming Music Educators Association.

Sarah Wether, from Batavia, warms up with her instructor David Grillo.

The hallways were filled with students waiting their turn to perform, and parents.

Single mother thrilled with new Habitat home in Elba

By Howard B. Owens

As a 22-year-old single mother, Megan Curry never thought homeownership was a realistic goal, but then a coworker told her about Habitat for Humanity and how the organization helped her move into her own house.

Soon, Curry and her son Kayden will be living in their own home on Old Oak Orchard Road, Elba.

The property was donated by MY-T Acres Farm and the Call family. Habitat volunteers, along with Curry, built the three bedroom house from the basement up.

"I never thought something like this would be possible, so the fact that I can be a homeowner and the fact that I helped build my own house is a big deal," Curry said. "It's really empowering."

Pictured are Stephen Curry, Megan's father, Kayden and Megan, her grandmother Phyllis Darling, sister Kayla Curry and her mother, Laura Curry.

Two-vehicle accident reported on Route 98, Elba

By Howard B. Owens

A two-vehicle, injury accident is reported on Oak Orchard Road near Edgerton Road, Elba.

Elba fire and Mercy EMS responding.

A second ambulance is requested to the scene, non-emergency.

First responders report a slick roadway.

Route 98 is closed from Ford Road to Edgerton.

Cold and a bit of snow in the forecast

By Howard B. Owens

Weather forecast from Mark McLean, 13WHAM, our news partner:

On Ultimate Doppler HD we don’t see any widespread precipitation now, but a few flurries are showing up, especially west of Rochester and I wouldn’t be surprised if some light patchy freezing drizzle is mixing in as well. Right now we officially have gray skies with the temperature in the upper 20s near Rochester. Across WNY the temperature is in the upper 20s or lower 30s now and will likely stay in this range through midnight.

The hour by hour forecast shows the temperature falling sharply after midnight with a quick burst of snow likely. We expect the temperature will be in the upper teens by morning. Lake snow showers will continue for the morning. On the neighborhood forecast notice that the temperature doesn’t go up from there. We see the temperature staying in the mid to upper teens all afternoon with a few sunny breaks late in the afternoon.

On the futurecast we have several storm systems we’re watching for WNY. The first will impact the region Monday afternoon and evening. Light snow is likely with several inches of accumulation possible, especially south of Rochester. The snow futurecast shows the expected snow amounts nicely. Behind the system Monday, arctic air will continue to cross Lake Ontario creating additional lake snow showers Tuesday.

The weather forecast this evening will stay overcast with a few flurries and patches of freezing drizzle at 7 and 10 p.m. The temperature will hover in the upper 20s or low 30s during this time. arctic cold front will cross WNY overnight and drop the temperature into the upper teens by 8 a.m. A few lake effect snow showers will be possible in the morning.

The 7-day forecast shows Arctic chill sticking around for most of this week. Monday looks bitter cold with the morning starting in the single numbers. We expect light snow Monday afternoon with several inches of accumulation possible. Tuesday will also be frigid. A few passing snow showers are expected with the high once again in the upper teens. Wednesday will still be cold, but not as harsh. With a few sunny breaks the temperature will move into the mid-20s. Another area-wide snow will arrive Thursday with a high in the low 30s. Friday will turn blustery and colder again with lake snow showers, the early day high in the mid-20s. Saturday will be frigid with mostly cloudy skies and a high near 18.

Le Roy beats Warsaw in girls hoops, 47-32

By Howard B. Owens

A 15-point second quarter built on a foundation of pressure defense helped Le Roy pull away from Warsaw on Friday night in a girls hoops matchup.

The first quarter ended in a 9-9 tie, but a series of steals and pressured double-dribbles and travels gave the Knights extra scoring chances.

"That was probably the best defense we played all year," said Head Coach Brian Herdlein.

Herdlein added that his girls staying out of foul trouble also helped move the Knights to a 4-9 record.

The result was a 47-32 victory.

Erin Cappotelli and Kayla Heimlich scored 10 points each for Le Roy, Paige Biggins, nine, and Ava Vescovi, eight.

For Warsaw, Abbey Monahan had 10 points, Ashton Babbit had nine and Tammi Rutherford, six.

To purchase prints, click here.

Trumpeter plays National Anthem every morning at VA to honor veterans, and his father

By Howard B. Owens

A few of mornings ago, it was just a degree above zero. I wondered if Frank Panepento was really going to be outside by the giant old flag pole outside the Batavia VA Hospital, brass trumpet in hand, blowing out the National Anthem.

I heard he had been out to the VA every morning for the past several months, honoring the veterans and their caregivers with the Star Spangled Banner.

Panepento's tribute started over the summer, and except for missing a couple of days in August, he's been in a small parking lot near the illuminated flagpole every morning at 7, regardless of the rain, the wind, the cold or the snow.

"It's such a beautiful facility that does such beautiful things, every day, every single day," Panepento said. "I said, 'God give me the strength. Let me do this.' Once I did it one day, I said, 'why can't I do it two days?' Once I did it two days, 'why doesn't someone do it every day?' "

Panepento would like to see other horn players take up the cause, not just here, but throughout the nation.

Next month, he will need neck surgery, so he's been recruiting friends to fill in for him, as well as trying to work out something with Batavia High School to have students take turns with the patriotic wake-up call.

"If you're a horn player, why aren't you playing?" Panepento asked. "For me, if I see an opportunity to play, it doesn't get any better than this. It doesn't for me."

Panepento played for the St. Joe's Drum Corps when he was young, but then put his horn away in 1972. In 1991, he helped form the Mighty St. Joe's Alumni Corps and started playing again.

His father had passed by then. He died while a cancer patient at the VA hospital.

A few months before the elder Panepento's death, he told Frank he was determined to beat cancer. He wanted to go up to the VA and walk on the grounds.

The two men parked in the same parking lot where Panepento plays every morning now, got out of the car and started to walk.

They walked shoulder to shoulder for a few feet toward the flag pole, then Frank's father sagged and Frank caught him. They were still at least 15 feet from the large, white cement base of the standard.

"I'm praying, 'God, please give me the strength to hold him,' " Panepento said. "I couldn't go left. I couldn't go right. I didn't want to drop him. I was able to get him to the flagpole and lean him on that flagpole. I said, 'Are you OK, you OK?' I ran back to the car, praying, 'Oh, dear God, please don't let him fall.' I drove over there and I was able to get him car. That was the last time Dad was out. That is when he came to the stark realization (of) what cancer was doing to him and all the implications of what it meant."

Not long after, Panepento's mother passed while staying at the state veterans home on the same grounds.

Frank's father died at a time when Panepento wasn't playing. Father never heard son play the National Anthem. At the funeral, Frank couldn't play taps for his dad. These are lost opportunities Penepento regrets.

"We forget our veterans," Panepento said. "What do we do? We just remember on Veterans Day, or we just remember them on a particular day, or the caregivers who take care of our veterans. It should be something, it's something I need to do. So when I come here, it's like 'Hello Dad, hi, Ma. Thank you God. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to just be here and play.' I'm just grateful to be able to play for him today. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to do it for him then."

NOTE About the video: I've been out to the VA center four straight mornings at 7. The first morning, I went to the wrong location (didn't miss by much) and didn't see Frank. The next morning, the bitter cold caused technical issues with my camera. The following morning, operator error meant the video was out of focus. Today, video in focus, but wind ruined the sound. So, the video is yesterday's audio with this morning's video. Perhaps only a musician would notice it's slightly out of sync, but as a matter of full disclosure, that's the explanation.

Davis settling in as newest member of the County Legislature

By Howard B. Owens

County government involves a $140 million budget, more than 700 employees in 27 departments, guided by a myriad of state and local laws, a tiered committee and commission structure and covering topics as diverse as criminal justice, mental health, roads and bridges and government assistance programs.

It would be impossible for any new member of the Genesee County Legislature to "hit the ground running."

The shared wisdom among local government observers is it takes at least a year to get even a basic knowledge of how the county operates.

With that in mind, the Legislature's newest member, Darien's Mike Davis, is taking a measured approach to learning his new job.

He's attending every committee meeting he can, making the rounds to various county departments and listening and reading.

"I need to learn what it's all about," Davis said. "I need to go to all of them (committee meetings) right now to understand the breadth of what's going on. Jay (Gsell, county manager) has taken me to on maybe a one-third tour of the county departments to meet the department heads and employees, and I'll continue to do that. We're going to schedule another one next week. I'll try to see who all these people are -- some 700 employees -- and figure out who does what and where."

Davis was a town justice in Darien and he said he's taking the same approach he did when first appointed to the bench: work hard and learn.

"I think I use common sense, and that's how I'm going to approach this," Davis said.

Davis's first committee assignment is Human Services, taking the slot once filled by Annie Lawrence, who is now supervisor in the Town of Pembroke.

Appointed to the office, he'll run for election in November.

DEVELOPING: Feds raid residence on Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road

By Howard B. Owens

Midmorning some time, agents of Homeland Security, Secret Service, ICE and State Police raided a residence at 3618 Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, Batavia.

The agents arrived in multiple vehicles including two black vans.

While we were on scene, agents were pulling out large and small green branches. It looked for all the world like they had cut up the family Christmas tree and were stuffing it into large black bags.

An agent on scene said, "I can't tell you anything, except those are not Christmas tree branches."

Agents also carried out boxes.

When we asked a Homeland Security investigator if we could talk to the scene commander, he said we would need to contact the public information office for information. He provided a phone number. That number is nothing but an endless loop of voice prompts, making it impossible to speak to a real person or even leave a message.

We're are continuing to try and track down further information.  

UPDATE 11:02 a.m.: Reviewing my pictures from the scene at higher magnification on the computer, the branches appear to be marijuana plants stripped of leaves (one branch still has some leaves on it, and they look like marijuana leaves). Will have pictures posted shortly.

UPDATE noon: Karen Wisnowski, spokeswoman for Homeland Security in Buffalo, confirmed there is an ongoing investigation in a joint operation between Homeland Security, Secret Service and State Police, but could not comment further. She said the case is under a court-ordered seal at this time. More information will be released once the seal is lifted.

UPDATE 5:10 p.m.: We checked in with Karen Wisnowski. No new information available yet.

County doesn't share in state's job growth report

By Howard B. Owens

While the Department of Labor is boasting of 30,000 new jobs in New York in December, Genesee County was apparently not part of the boon.

The county lost 200 jobs from December 2013 to December 2014, according to the latest figures released by the DoL.

There were 21,900 jobs in the county last month, according to the report.

The nation as a whole added 240,000 jobs during the period and the national unemployment rate has dipped to 5.6 percent. New York's rate is 5.8 percent. The county's latest rate is not yet available.

During the same period, Wyoming County lost 100 jobs, down to 13,100. 

For jobs numbers, Orleans and Livingston counties are included in the Rochester count, which totals 129,200 jobs, down 200 from a year ago.

Buffalo-Niagara, however, added 800 new jobs, up to 558,400.

Here's the DoL's press release on the jobs report:

In December 2014, New York State’s private sector job count increased by 30,100, or 0.4 percent, to 7,638,200, reaching a new all-time high and outpacing the nation’s growth. Since the beginning of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration, the state’s economy has added 535,600 private sector jobs and experienced employment growth in 41 of the past 48 months. This period included 22 consecutive months of private sector job growth, the state’s longest streak on record (current data go back to 1990).

The statewide unemployment rate in New York declined from 5.9 percent to 5.8 percent in December 2014, reaching its lowest level since September 2008, according to preliminary figures released today by the New York State Department of Labor. In addition, New York City’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.3 percent, remaining at its lowest level since October 2008.

The state’s private sector job count is based on a payroll survey of 18,000 New York employers conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly payroll employment estimates are preliminary and subject to revision as more data becomes available the following month. The federal government calculates New York’s unemployment rate partly based upon the results of the Current Population Survey, which contacts approximately 3,100 households in New York State each month.

“In December 2014, New York State’s economy experienced its largest monthly private sector job gain in two years and outpaced the nation. In addition, the state’s unemployment rate continued its recent downward trend in December,” said Bohdan M. Wynnyk, deputy director of the Division of Research and Statistics.

Book recalls Tony Kutter's efforts to bring cheese business to post-Communist Russia

By Howard B. Owens

Imagine a country with only one kind of cheese. If you can, you're thinking of Russia in the aftermath of the fall of communism.

That was the situation Tony Kutter found on his first trip in 1995 to the former Soviet Union as part of a trade exchange program to help aspiring Russian entrepreneurs learn how to start cheesemaking businesses.

Who better to teach how to make and market more than one kind of cheese than the 81-year-old Corfu resident who is a former owner of Kutter's Cheese, a cheesemaker with a reputation for developing dozens of varieties of cheese.

That's what leaders of the exchange program thought after Kutter volunteered for the assignment and his resume landed on their desks.

It was one of Kutter's suppliers who suggested he apply for the volunteer position.

"He said, 'just send in your resume,' so I did," Kutter said. "I did and as soon as I did they responded right away. 'Oh, this is the one we're looking for.' "

Working through Agricultural Cooperative Development International, Overseas Cooperation Assistance and Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs, all three nonprofit, private organizations based in Washington, D.C., Kutter made 31 trips to Russia over a 12-year span.

Batavia's own Barber Conabel, then president of the World Bank, was among the first to suggest Kutter write a book about his experiences during those many trips.

"He said, 'you've got to write a book,' " Kutter said. "He said, 'I don't know anyone who has been there 31 times and all over Russia.' "

The book is published now and it's called "Cheese in the Time of Glasnost and Perestroika."

Kutter tells the tales, recalls the tribulations and revisits the sometimes sad family histories of the people he met while helping to build cheese plants, instructing cheesemakers on marketing, and sharing with them the recipes for any variety of cheese from munster to gouda to cheese curds.

"I got over there and said, 'geez, you make one kind of cheese and it ain't very damn good,' " Kutter said. "So I took about 20 varieties over from our cheese factory and told them, 'tell me what you want to make and I'll show you how to do it.' "

The organizations sponsoring these missions -- and there were many -- wanted to help Russia transition from a command economy to a market economy and help open up the country to U.S. goods and services. American companies helped sponsor the programs in the hopes of developing a new market.

Goals that haven't exactly been met.

His first mission was to help start a cheese factory in St. Petersburg. This mission was also Kutter's first introduction to Russian bureaucracy and the national penchant to operate on bribery.

Organizations sponsoring Kutter's trips purchased supplies for the new factory and Kutter arrived at the border with the equipment. 

A customs official wanted to know, "What the heck is this stuff?"

It's for making cheese, Kutter told him.

The official went through the boxes and proclaimed, "This isn't humanitarian aid. You falsified the papers."  

The fine was $75,000.

Kutter returned to the U.S. without the new factory in place, but when he returned a few months later, the factory was ready to start making cheese. All of the new equipment was installed and ready to go.

He wanted to know how it happened.

"Let's not get into that," he was told. "That's not for you to know."

Kutter added, "everything in Russia is predicated on a bribe. It's still that way."

Sadly, the St. Petersburg factory went bankrupt after two years, but others Kutter helped start are still operational.

In his travels, Kutter was often invited into the homes of his Russian hosts and he often quizzed the older Russians about life under the former Soviet regime.

When Stalin died, Kutter was serving in the Army in Korea and he remembers reading in "Stars and Stripes" about people weeping in the streets, so he asked one old Russian gentleman, "did you cry when Stalin died?"

The man said, no. He wasn't really all that saddened by the brutal dictator's death.

The man told Kutter, "I put spit in my eyes so it looked like I was crying."

Kutter had dinner with a woman whose husband was taken to Siberia during Khrushchev's rule.

The couple had eight children. The man's crime? He took a bag of grain so he could feed his family.

The mother wrote her husband every day, but never got a reply.  They assumed the letters were getting to him, but that he wasn't allowed to respond.

In 1975, after Brezhnev became chairman, she received a letter informing her that her husband "had been killed unnecessarily." The package contained all the letters she had ever sent him.

"I can tell dozens of stories like that," Kutter said.

In the town of Perm, Kutter helped establish a cheese factory and taught the owners how to make a great variety of cheeses, all of which most Russians had never even tried.

He told his hosts that with these great cheeses ready to sell, they needed a way to market them. Thinking of the booming tourist business Kutter's has always done in Pembroke, Kutter suggested they set up a sample table at City Hall. 

As a condition of the permit, Kutter had to speak Russian. Fortunately, he had hired for the plant in Pembroke a woman who was a Russian translator, and she had been tutoring him on his Russian.

"I can speak enough Russian," he told them, "to say, 'I'm from America and I'm working at this cheese plant right here in your city and we developed these new variety of cheese and so perhaps you can try some and tell me what you think.' "

The people came out of the woodwork, Kutter said.

"One woman said to me, 'why are you giving all this stuff away?' " Kutter said.

He told her, "We want to introduce it to you."

She replied, "In Russia, if somebody is giving something away, it usually means it isn't any good."

The Russians liked the free cheese, but that didn't mean they were buying cheese at first.

"I asked one woman, 'would you buy this cheese?' and she asked me what we were selling it for, and I told her, and she said, 'you know, I'd really like to but, no, I wouldn't buy it.' She said, 'I don't have a lot of money, so I would save my money and buy a dress because when I go out in public they can see what I wear, but they can't see what I ate.' "

Asked if he felt he had any lasting impact on Russia, or left a legacy, Kutter demurs.

"I'm just a little old cheese maker," he said.

A little later he came back to the question and recalled the time a sales rep came into the Kutter's factory and asked him if he had heard about the cheese curds recall in Russia.  

"I thought," Kutter said, "there never was any cheese curds in Russia until I went there, so I must have had some effect."

"Cheese in the Time of Glasnost and Perestroika," by Tony Kutter, is normally on sale at the Holland Land Office Museum, but they just sold out. More copies are expected soon. 

Hawley: Sheldon Silver must go

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today called for the resignation and removal of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Hawley said Silver’s resignation is necessary to preserve the integrity of the office and keep focus on the importance of the upcoming budget negotiations.  

“Speaker Silver owes it to his legislative colleagues, the State of New York and his tens of thousands of constituents to step down as speaker,” Hawley said. “Speaker Silver owes the public an explanation for his actions, and it would be outrageous and irresponsible to allow him to continue his Assembly duties while he faces a possible indictment for corruption charges. It is time for members of the Assembly Majority to do the right thing and elect new leadership that will serve our state with a greater sense of honor and dignity. We have important business to conduct as public representatives, and the upcoming budget negotiations deserve our utmost attention. Silver’s resignation would allow us to continue the people’s business.”

Hawley’s comments come after Silver turned himself in to the FBI this morning following an investigation about incomplete financial disclosures required by state law.

Le Roy couple charged in vehicle thefts

By Howard B. Owens
Lauren Charache Duane Charache

Two people have been arrested in connection with a series of vehicle thefts in Le Roy, but the arrests only potentially solve two of the crimes, according to Le Roy PD.

Lauren E. Charache, 35, and Duane J. Charache, 31, both of 115 Myrtle St., Le Roy, are charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 3rd, two counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, and one count of criminal mischief, 4th.

Batavia PD first arrested Lauren Charache on Jan. 8 after she was allegedly found in possession of a stolen vehicle. She was charged in Batavia of criminal possession of stolen property, 2nd.

Le Roy investigators say Lauren possessed the same vehicle on that same day in the Village of Le Roy, leading to another criminal possession of stolen property charge.

Both Duane and Lauren possessed one of the vehicles, police say, and it was allegedly damaged through reckless use. The value of the damage exceeds $250.

A third vehicle theft remains under investigation.

Lauren was jailed on $10,000 bail and Duane was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

GCC kicks off fundraising campaign for new buildings, scholarships

By Howard B. Owens

By Tom Rivers, Orleans Hub

In 1965, a year before Genesee Community College officially started, Carl and Bernice Yunker took up the challenge to help create the college.

They talked to neighbors and friends, and local town and county officials. The idea wasn’t popular. People worried their taxes would go up with a new community college.

The Yunkers and other GCC supporters were able to convince the public to back the effort. The Yunkers’ son, Craig, observed his parents a half century ago and their push to make GCC a reality.

He is taking a turn in the spotlight now, working to rally friends and neighbors, and the general public on behalf of GCC. The college is planning a $20 million-plus project, its most ambitious since its beginning.

Yunker is the chairman of the fund-raising campaign that seeks $5 million in donations from the public. Donors have already stepped forward with $4 million.

“This campaign will change this college,” Yunker said during a campaign kickoff on Wednesday evening with about 100 GCC supporters. “It will propel it for the next 50 years.”

The college in the spring expects to start site work on two buildings – a 9,000-square-foot “Student Success Center” and 43,000-square-foot “College and Community Event Center.”

GCC also is working to raise $1 million for scholarships. That endowed fund will allow GCC to offer financial help to 80 to 100 local students each year.

For more of this story, visit OrleansHub.com.

Photo by Howard Owens.

Knifepoint robber facing possible 15 years in prison after guilty plea

By Howard B. Owens
Robert Propst

A Batavia man with several prior arrests admitted in County Court on Wednesday to stealing another person's wallet at knifepoint in August.

Robert J. Probst, 34, of Maple Street, pled guilty to robbery, 2nd. 

As a prior felony offender, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Probst was arrested in October, accused of confronting a 22-year-old victim on Pearl Street and taking his wallet.

Over the past few years, Probst has been arrested on various lesser charges in Batavia, but his prior felony offense for sentencing purposes is a 2002 robbery of a business in Batavia.

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