From Democrat & Chronicle reporter Jill Terreri:

Assemblywoman Jane Corwin today defended the 2012 budget plan put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan, which has been criticized by Rep. Louise Slaughter and others for ending Medicare as it is known today, shifting costs to seniors.

“What the proposal for Medicare does is it protects the program, it guarantees benefits for people in the future,” Corwin said today during a stop in Rochester. “It also protects seniors 55 and over. … For people in my age group, the Ryan proposal will actually provide benefits for them. If we don’t do something now, they will get nothing. I take objection (to) ‘wrecking’ the Medicare program. This protects the Medicare program and ensures that there are benefits for future generations.”

Name Redacted Upon Request, 19, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with burglary, 2nd, criminal possession of stolen of stolen property, 5th, petit larceny, growing cannabis without a license and unlawful possession of marijuana. xxxx was arrested following the execution of a search warrant on his residence, which was the result of an investigation that began April 15 after a village resident complained a home had been entered and various items stolen. The investigation pointed to xxxx as the suspect and a search warrant was obtained. During execution of the search warrant, numerous allegedly stolen items were found as well as marijuana plants and marijuana paraphernalia. xxxxx was jailed on $15,000 bail.

Michael B. Pfaff, of Keeney Road, Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI, aggravated DWI and failing to stop at a stop sign. Pfaff was stopped Sunday by a Le Roy police officer. He was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Jonathan Cornell Robinson, 24, of Buffalo (no street address released), is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, operating on a suspended license and driver's view obstructed. Robinson was stopped at 12:39 a.m., Saturday, on Main Street, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Keith Patrick Snyder, 30, of Lewiston Road, Alabama, is charged with unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Snyder was stopped at 2:58 a.m, Saturday, on MvVean Road, Darien, by Deputy Jason Saile. Snyder was also charged with refusal to take breath test, failure to signal and failure to yield right-of-way to an emergency vehicle.

Charles Linwood Muntz, 22, of Crosby Road, Basom, is charged with a felony count of DWI, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and parking on a public highway. Muntz was allegedly found asleep at the wheel of his vehicle while it was stopped at an intersection on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation at 3:11 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy Eric Seppala.

Jeremy John Patterson, 20, of Medina (no street address released), is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, tinted windows and plate obstructed. Patterson was stopped at 1:53 a.m., Sunday, on Alleghany Road, Basom, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Earl Elsworth Sands, 53, of Batavia (no street address released), is charged with harassment, 2nd. Sands was arrested following a disturbance at his residence at 10:30 p.m., Saturday. Sands is accused of striking a visitor to his residence.

Jennifer Rae Champlin, 31, of Bloomfield (no street address released), is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Champlin was stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 5:06 p.m., Sunday, on Ellicott Street, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Press Release:

Democrats and Republicans continue to push partisan agendas rather than honestly confronting the problems Americans face.

The Republican plan for cutting Medicare is unacceptable. The Democrats propose continuing tax, spend and borrow policies -- business as usual.  This is unacceptable.

There is a third way: Put American men and women back to work. The inflow of revenue to the U.S. Treasury and the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds from taxes paid by working Americans and profitable businesses will solve the deficit problems.

It is time to reinstitute trade-balancing tariffs on imported manufactured products. With a level playing field, U.S. businesses will hire Americans to produce the goods Americans consume. From 1789 to 1913, a major source of revenue for the U.S. government was tariffs on foreign goods, not taxes on working Americans.

The third way budget also shuts down offshore tax havens that companies use to hide their profits. It closes unneeded military bases around the world and eliminates foreign aid to countries that hate us. 

The Constitution gives the federal government the power to regulate commerce with foreign countries and the responsibility to promote the general welfare – jobs. Congress must return to first principles: put America first and put Americans back to work.

ON TAX DAY, JACK DAVIS OFFERS INDEPENDENT VISION TO PUT AMERICANS TO WORK, MAINTAIN MEDICARE, CLOSE OFFSHORE TAX HIDEOUTS
 
(AKRON, NY) With the deadline for filing income taxes approaching, Jack Davis, independent candidate for U.S. Congress, is putting forward his vision for a federal budget that cuts deficits and spending and puts Americans back to work. It accomplishes these goals without eliminating Medicare as the Republicans propose, and without raising taxes, as Democrats propose. 

Jack Davis advocates shutting down offshore tax havens and closing tax loopholes supported by both parties that allow multinational corporations like GE to hide profits overseas and evade paying taxes. 

A provision of the 2004 American Jobs Creation Act, passed by the Republican Congress and signed by President George W. Bush, allows companies to avoid taxes by booking their profits overseas.

When that provision was set to expire in 2008, it was two New York Democrats, Rep. Charlie Rangel, then-chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, and Committee Member Rep. Joe Crowley, who went to bat for the corporate tax evaders to keep the loophole open.  Crowley claimed it would help the financial services giant Citigroup. (See http://nyti.ms/eUQAce)

“This shows how both parties have sold out to the multinationals and big banks which are American in name only, ” says Jack Davis.

The key to balancing the budget is putting Americans back to work.

“The inflow of revenue to the U.S. Treasury and the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds from taxes paid by working Americans and profitable businesses will solve the deficit problems,” says Davis.

Analysis by authoritative financial experts bears this out. Dan Fuss, manager of the $18.5 billion Loomis Sayles Bond Fund, has been managing bond portfolios for 50 years. Earlier this month, Fuss pointed out that about 56 percent of Americans over the age of 16 are now gainfully employed. If that percentage rises to 64 percent, Fuss says, the budget deficit disappears entirely. (See http://reut.rs/f6GJKH)

And the key to putting Americans back to work is leveling the playing field for American businesses and working men and women. Right now, China and other foreign competitors are flooding the American market with manufactured goods of all kinds because they have an unfair advantage over American producers. This is putting Americans out of work and bankrupting American businesses.

Bert Baker, of Baker Drivetrain, an American manufacturer of motorcycle components, knows firsthand the unfair competition American producers face. He points to a Chinese company that sells its finished parts at a price equivalent to the cost of the raw materials.

“There are some parts being made in China, and the cost of that finished product is roughly the cost of my raw materials if I were to make it in this country. Aluminum and most raw materials are globally priced, they’re the same all over the globe. So what gives here -- how could they do that? I know their people are not working for nothing. What I’m guessing is that China is providing subsidies so they can sell it so cheaply,” says Baker. (See http://bit.ly/hJgNex)

A tariff on imported manufactured products would level the playing field for American producers.

“Businesses would invest in America and hire Americans to produce the goods Americans buy,” says Jack Davis.

Tariffs are as American as apple pie, Davis points out. Until the adoption of the income tax in 1913, tariffs on foreign goods, not taxes on working Americans, were the major source of revenue for the U.S. government. (See http://bit.ly/fgeOtb)

Davis opposes eliminating Medicare or cutting Social Security to reduce government spending. He advocates cutting expenditures on the nearly 900 military bases the U.S. maintains around the world and cutting foreign aid to nations that do not share our values. (See http://bit.ly/2j7oY)

An elderly member of one of Batavia's most prominent local families lies in a United Memorial Medical Center bed tonight gravely ill, and family members are fairly confident UMMC is responsible for her serious condition.

The aunt of local business woman Lois Gerace, and the great-aunt of Town of Batavia Board Member John Gerace, Margaret Wagner, 86, contracted clostridium difficile, more commonly called "C diff," after being treated for a fractured hip at UMMC.

She's been in the hospital for two weeks and medical personnel, according to Lois and John, have told the family she will likely succumb to the bacteria.  

"They have her in what's called 'comfort care,'" Lois said.

UMMC CEO Mark Schoell acknowledges that there has been a slight spike in the incidents of C diff at the hospital, but said it's a common infectious bacteria at hospitals and UMMC takes every standard precaution to prevent its spread.

"I believe our infection controls procedures and policies are excellent," Schoell said. "They comply with all of the standards of the industry and all of the requirements of the health department of New York State. In fact, when we saw the spike in our absolute numbers of C diff, we immediately got the health department involved in the effort to manage those cases."

C diff most commonly strikes elderly people while hospitalized, especially when they're on antibiotics, but according to the Mayo Clinic (link above), C diff can make even healthy people not on antibiotics ill. While it is treatable, C diff is potentially fatal for anybody who contracts it.

Annually, more than 480,000 people are diagnosed with C diff. Of those, 28,000 die as a result. Not quite half of those deaths occur after people contract C diff in a hospital. The majority of deaths occur in nursing homes.

Schoell said typically, UMMC  has a count of 40 to 45 patients and with that number of patients, at least two or three contract C diff.

The Geraces believe Wagner contracted C diff when, after her surgery, she was placed in a third floor recovery room with a C diff patient. At least, they say, that's what a nurse told them, though Lois admits they don't have lab tests or hospital records to support the assertion.

Recently, the hospital had 65 patients and currently has six C diff patients, Schoell said.

Up until yesterday, John Gerace said, his aunt was in a room on the third floor, but after he let a head nurse know that he had notified the media of the situation, the hospital removed all patients from the third floor and sterilized it from top to bottom.  

"Now, if there wasn’t a problem, or if I didn’t say anything, there would still be people up on that third floor," John said.

Schoell said the decision to vacate the third floor and clean it was made well before the media was contacted by Gerace. He said the hospital could only make the move after the number of patients dropped, which typically happens on a weekend, so beds could more easily be relocated and all the C diff patients could be consolidated in the same wing.

"We would have done that, taken the same actions whether there was media involvement or not," Schoell said. "It was the right thing to do."

Schoell said by consolidating C diff patients in one wing, hospital staff can do a better job of controlling who enters and who leaves rooms, but on Sunday evening, two reporters were able to walk right up to the second floor, ask for a family member of a C diff patient, and be escorted down the hall to the area of the room (though the reporters made no attempt to enter the room). No staff members offered any objections or warnings.

John Gerace also disputes the assertion that there are only six C diff patients at UMMC. He said he's counted at least a dozen of the red "stop" signs similar to one placed outside his aunt's room on the second floor. 

The Geraces are especially concerned for the sake of the community that there is no security on the second floor warning visitors that a potential lethal bacteria is present, nor are there adequate warning signs and information posted when you arrive on the floor warning of the danger.

"If you come in and you’re having a bad stomach day and your antacids aren’t kicking in, you’re done," said Robert Gerace. "In three or four days, you’re going to be in the same bed."

The Gerace's first learned of Margaret Wagner's condition when they came to visit her a few days after her hip surgery. They started toward her room, John said, and a nurse stopped them and said, "You don't want to go down there."

The nurse said they didn't know what was wrong with Wagner, but it was potentially communicable. Family members were eventually allowed into the room, but only after donning gowns and masks. They told Wagner they were dressed up for Halloween.

After visiting with Wagner a couple of times while wearing masks, another nurse pulled John aside and said the masks weren't necessary because C diff is not airborne.

All along the line, John said, communication from the hospital about how to protect themselves from C diff has been spotty and inconsistent.

"I'm leaving one day and a staffer says, 'Oh, by the way, you want to wash the bottom of your shoes off with chlorine and water,'" John said. "Nobody told us this before. You could be tracking it into your house with small children. Nobody is telling us this stuff. Why wouldn’t somebody come in and say, ‘oh, by the way, these are all the things you guys need to do'?"

Family members have been concerned about some of the sanitary practices they've observed over the past two weeks. They said they've seen janitors cleaning out contaminated rooms, sweep everything into the hall and then use ungloved hands to pick up the waste and put it in a trash can.

Lois's husband, Joe Gerace, is partners with her in Bob Harris Realty and he operates Gerace Hair Care (he's also chairman of the City of Batavia Republican Committee). She said she doesn't understand why the state requires barber shops and beauty salons to keep all trash in covered receptacles but all around the hospital, she's seen open containers used to dispose of potentially contaminated materials.

The Gerace family has a history of supporting UMMC and said one of the things they've valued about living in Batavia is that the city has a local, nearby hospital. Now all they want, each of them said, was to ensure that local residents get safe, quality care at their local hospital.

"I really don’t want to get into lawsuits and stuff like that," Lois said. "What I want to see is protection for the patients here."

This story produced in cooperation with The Batavian's news partner, WBTA.

Joni Mitchell's line in the song "Big Yellow Taxi" was spot on: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

So it was last summer, when the 26th annual Labor Daze celebration had to be cancelled. The reason given was too few volunteers to put together the holiday festival.

The locals did host a small event last year at the Elroy D. Parkins Town Park (Little League Park) with hopes of improving next time around.

Now the Oakfield Betterment Committee has revived itself -- and fully aware that it's going to take a village -- and a town -- to get Labor Daze back on track -- the group is doing just that.

It has enlisted some new volunteers with fresh ideas.

So marks those calenders -- Labor Daze will be at the town park again on Sept. 4 and 5. The celebration has gotten a bit bigger, according to Town Clerk Melissa Haacke, co-chair of the new Oakfield Betterment Committee.

"Well, of course, we're going to still have food vendors and crafters like usual, but we have really expanded our kids activities for this year," Haacke said. "We have two bounce houses coming and a local family that will be bringing in animals for a petting zoo and we contacted Genesee and Orleans County 4-H groups to see if they want to bring in some animals, too."

Since horse and pony rides were popular last year, they'll be offered again. Kids can also play on the playground at the park so parents can worry less about children wandering into traffic.

"We liked the idea that we don't have to close any roads for this," Haacke said.

She gave credit to her Co-chair Kate Manges for taking initiative dring the planning phases, saying, "She really took the bull by the horns."

She explained that in an effort to "get back to their roots," members of the Betterment Committee tried to keep everything as local as possible to showcase the village and town.

To highlight the 60th anniversary of the Oakfield Lions Club, the group will be the Grand Marshal of the parade. Also, the new Oakfield Historical Museum on Maple Avenue will be open to encourage everyone to walk around and visit local businesses.

People can also expect a fireworks display, a car show, Chinese auction and some great raffle items. Prizes include $1,000 cash, a four-pack of season tickets to Darien Lake, a laptop computer from Millennium Computers, a Nook and many more items.

To donate to the Chinese auction or raffle prizes or for vendor information, call Town Clerk Melissa Haacke (948-5835, ext. 20) or e-mail celebration14125@yahoo.com.

Lt. Tim Hogle, above right, received the Firefighter of the Year award from the Le Roy Fire Department during the its annual awards and installation dinner at Bohn's Restaurant in Batavia.

Safety Officer Joe "Uncle Joe" Orlando, below, received the Chief's Accommodation.

Chief Mike Sheflin presented both awards.

County Emergency Services Coordinator Tim Yaeger, right, presented the department with an award for Le Roy posting the most training hours -- 850 -- of any department in Genesee County. Chief Mike Sheflin accepted the award.

Tom Wood, 1st Assistant Chief, Chief Sheflin and 2nd Assistant Chief Dale Ehrhart.

More pictures after the jump:

A large tree is reportedly down and blocking the roadway on Dry Bridge Road near Sandpit Road, Alexander.

Winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected through 6 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind warning because of the anticipated high winds.

Sustained winds could exceed 40 mph for at least an hour.

High winds could bring down trees and cause power outages.

Drivers of high-profile vehicles should use caution.

A Sheriff's Deputy reports that a transformer is arcing "pretty good" about an eighth of a mile west of Route 19 in Bergen. That's in the proximity of 8262 Sackett Road.

A kitchen grease fire was reported in the rear of the residence at 111 Liberty St. in the City of Batavia and its fire crews responded. Smoke was showing when they arrived, but the blaze was quickly extinguished.

The building was evacuated. Two people suffered second-degree burns, according to responders.

An ambulance is en route.

The location is between Central Avenue and Cherry Street.

UPDATE 9:24 p.m.: A Mercy Medic unit is called.

UPDATE 9:43 p.m.: City Ladder 15 is returning to quarters. Mercy Squad 2 is back in service. The burn victims have been transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

Top photo by Howard Owens, bottom photos by Frank Capuano.

National Crime Victims' Week was recognized in Batavia this week and events culminated Friday with a silent walk to remember victims of crime. The walk ended at City Hall where a reception was held.

The brand-new Rosalie “Roz” Steiner Art Gallery opened Friday with great fanfare. Hundreds of people from throughout the county were on hand to see the gallery's first show and witness the opening ceremonies.

Above, the children and grandchildren of Roz and Stuart Steiner, from left: David Steiner, daughter Ava, Sarah Rogers, Robyn Steiner (holding Ava's hand), Lisa Rubin, Susan Steiner, Daniel Rubin and Dr. Steiner. A photo of Roz Steiner, background, was unveiled as part of the ceremony. 

Bottom photo, Eric Suritella and Carol Acquilano, the first artists featured in the gallery.

On Friday afternoon, Nancy Mortellaro was honored at the Richmond Memorial Library as the 2011 Friend of the Library.

Mortellaro praised her fellow friends and called them her "virtual Facebook," noting that unlike the real Facebook, she gets to see her friends face-to-face every day.

Mortellaro was honored for her diligent and long-standing support of the library.

A two-car accident has been reported in the area of Route 77 and Gabbey Road, Pembroke.

A child may have suffered minor injuries.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments responding.

UPDATE 2:03 p.m.: A second Mercy EMS ambulance requested to the scene to transport a person with apparent minor injuries to a hospital in Erie County.

A Batavia teenager reported missing earlier in the week was located yesterday at an address in the city, the Sheriff's Office reports.

Sara Howard, 16, was found safe.

Her case was referred to Family Court.

Conflicting reports are coming in about a possible hit-and-run accident with injuries at routes 33 and 19, Bergen.

It may involve two vehicles, or one car and a pedestrian.

Bergen Fire Department and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 10:48 p.m.: A first responder on scene says he's with an injured victim who says he was in a vehicle that rolled over. Mercy Flight is not needed.

UPDATE 10:51 p.m.: A chief, "I've got no vehicle down here at this point."

UPDATE 10:53 p.m.: Route 33 being closed at Townline. "Nobody gets past Townline," says a chief.

UPDATE 10:58 p.m.: The actual location is Route 33 and Appletree Avenue.

The arrest today of two South Byron residents for allegedly manufacturing methamphetamine has its roots in a Nov. 12, 2009 meth lab raid in Alabama, according to Sgt. Steve Mullen, head of the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force.

"If we're doing our jobs, a search warrant doesn't just end with that search warrant," Mullen said. "It opens doors into other investigations."

In the Alabama case -- the first suspected meth lab found in Genesee County -- Kenneth W. Mosholder and associates, including a woman who lived on Jackson Street, Batavia, were accused of manufacturing meth. Mosholder died while awaiting prosecution, but Mullen said the one-time Texas resident's recipe for making meth apparently spread throughout the county.

A handful of meth lab raids -- though not all of them -- since 2009 were based on threads connected to Mosholder's arrest, Mullen said.

"Once something like that grows in a community, it can take deep roots and take years to get out," Mullen said.

Many task force cases are built on other cases, Mullen said.

"Any single arrest looks like a snippet, but they're really scenes from the same movie," Mullen said.

Arrested in connection with the alleged meth lab in South Byron were Matthew J. Zon, 29, of Byron, and Tricia M. Tundo, 24, of Byron.

Zon and Tundo were apprehended during a traffic stop on Thursday night, but the couple wasn't discovered by accident, Mullen said. They were identified after months of investigation and observation while detectives built a case that would ultimately justify their apprehension.

Following the traffic stop, Zon and Tundo were allegedly found in possession of methamphetamine, meth lab material and drug paraphernalia.

Mullen said it's too soon in the investigation to say for certain whether Zon and Tundo were allegedly producing meth for sale. They have not yet been charged with any drug sales counts.

This morning, a contingent of investigators and crime lab specialists were on scene at 6319 E. Main St., South Byron, to execute a search warrant in an effort to determine whether Zon and Tundo were producing meth at their residence.

During the search, investigators carried out several items that appeared to be chemicals and implements used in the manufacture of meth. Test results on the items have not yet been released.

The search started with State Troopers in chemical-protection suits entering the house and retrieving two pet dogs, one a reportedly aggressive pit bull.

A deputy involved who helped transfer the dogs to the Animal Control vehicle said the dogs had a heavy odor of meth on them.

If Tundo and Zon were manufacturing meth in the house, the smell would permeate the entire residence, "just like burnt popcorn," said an investigator.

The odor of meth manufacturing, depending on the process used, according to sources, smells something like a mixture of burnt plastic and ammonia. 

Investigators were at the South Byron scene for hours, from before 8 a.m. until after 3 p.m. and Mullen was still at the office working on the case after 7 p.m.

And the execution of a search warrant in a drug case, said Mullen, is only a small portion of what goes into an investigation. It can take months to build a case in order to get a warrant, and the investigation doesn't stop with an arrest.

"The research and investigation really takes months," the sargeant said. "Even though we're at the end of a 12- or 13-hour day, the research began months ago."

Zon and Tundo are both charged with unlawful disposal of methamphetamine laboratory material, a felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance as well as criminally using drug paraphernalia.

The disposal charge is based on evidence gathered during the investigation that Zon and Tundo disposed of waste material along roadways in the area.

Mullen said the production of one ounce of meth produces a significant quanity of waste chemicals. 

One law enforcement official at the scene said that was one of the parts that bugged him the most about a case like this.

He said, potentially, some Boy Scout could be out on a clean-up day and come across some contaminated materials and become gravely ill.

The traffic stop Thursday night was initiated by Deputy Brian Thompson, whose K-9 "Pharaoh" assisted in the search of the vehicle.

Tundo was reportedly driving, though she allegedly did not have a valid NYS driver's license. 

Additional charges may be pending, Mullen said, and the Drug Enforcement Agency, which was involved in the 2009 raid in Alabama, will be consulted.

Besides the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and State Police, assisting at the scene were the South Byron Fire Department, Genesee County Emergency Services, the Health Department,  Animal Control and Mercy EMS.

More pictures after the jump:

A large brush fire is reported at 7397 Evans Road in Bergen. The caller indicated it was heading toward a swamp.

Bergen Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 6:01 p.m.: A firefighter on scene reports the fire was small and it is now out.

UPDATE 6:07 p.m.: The Bergen assignment is back in service.

Press release:

ERIE COUNTY – Kathy Hochul, candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District, will report raising more than $350,000 in the first quarter of 2011. 

In the report – that will be filed with the Federal Elections Commission today – Hochul will show having more than $300,000 in the bank. There were nearly 450 individual donors who contributed to the campaign, more than 90 percent of whom are residents of New York State.

“Our supporters are excited and committed to helping us win on May 24th,” said Fabien Levy, communications director for Kathy Hochul for Congress.  “More than 50 percent of the donations were at $250 or below, which shows we have strong grassroots support in this race. Western New Yorkers are sending a strong message that they want a fighter to represent them in Congress.”