Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian believes she has new evidence to feed her opposition to consolidation between the town and the city.

Christian and colleague Patti Pacino recently attended New York Conference of Mayors' Winter Legislative Meeting in Albany.

She says she heard horror stories about how consolidation is going in other municipal jurisdictions.

She said lawsuits and fees are skyrocketing.

From WBTA:

"One of the areas is with the fire department: volunteer versus paid. And now the volunteers want to get paid," Christian says. "The other one was the (village) police department, and where their jurisdiction is going to stop. Are they going into the town?"

Christian says Seneca Falls was one of the only approved consolidations in New York State. Municipalities almost everywhere else have voted it down. Christian says those votes have been very lopsided, and she believes it would be the same way here -- based on what she's heard about the town.

"So obviously they have to work everything out in our area," she says, "before they even consider putting this forth."

Christian says there’s a much better alternative.

"You can have shared services, without doing any of this," she says.

Mercy Flight will receive a USDA-backed loan to purchase a new state-of-the-art helicopter to be based in Batavia.

The $3 million loan was announced by Sen. Charles Schumer.

Mercy Flight will purchase a Bell 429 helicopter that will replace two older 1970s-era helicopters in the current fleet.

Genesee County and Mercy Flight recently signed a long-term lease for its facilities at the Genesee County Airport to help Mercy Flight secure the loan.

The new helicopter is expected to be in service in June.

Raymond Gandolfo, 38, of Massachusetts Street, Buffalo, is charged with three counts of identity theft, three counts of forgery, criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, and grand larceny, 4th. Gandolfo is accused of using a stolen credit card between 10:13 a.m. and 10:35 a.m., Sept. 25, to purchase merchandise at three separate stores on Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia. The total value exceeded $1,000.Gandolfo was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and returned to the Erie County Holding Center without bail.

Francis N. Shiltz, 69, of Alleghany Road, Strykerville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and unsafe backing. Shiltz was allegedly involved in a two-car property damage accident at 6:49 p.m., Thursday, at the Rez Smokeshop.

Arturo Vasquez-Armas, 41, of 2336 Judge Road, Oakfield, is charged with offering a false instrument for filing,1st, and criminal possession of a forged instrument, 3rd. Vasquez-Armas allegedly possessed a forged Social Security card while attempting to obtain a NYS non-driver ID at the Genesee County DMV office. Vasquez-Armas was jailed without bail.

Timothy Alan Duboy, 19, of Wethersfield Road, Warsaw, is charged with forcible touching. Duboy is accused of forcibly touching the intimate parts of another person. The alleged incident occurred at College Village on Jan. 25.

New York Times: Calls Mount to Tap U.S. Oil Reserves

A two-car accident with injuries has been reported at the intersection of Dublin and Jericho roads, Bergen.

Bergen fire and ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 5:41 p.m.: Sounds like very minor injuries.

The local sports world and many members of the Genesee County community mourn today after hearing of the unexpected passing of popular sportswriter, Brian Hillabush.

Hillabush, who spent nearly a decade at Batavia Daily News and some time at The Batavian, was found dead in his home Wednesday evening. No cause of death has been determined.

"I'm very shocked to hear about Brian and we will all certainly miss him," says Batavia Daily News managing editor Mark Graczyk. "He did great job as sports writer here. He always cared about people that he covered and will be missed by the people in the community.

"Brian loved and lived for sports, with his favorite teams being Duke, Yankees, and the Colts," said his girlfriend Aline Alibe Santos. "He loved his nephews and his family and had future plans to get married."

Hillabush had been attending Genesee Community College and was majoring in travel and tourism. 

"He was an energetic, well-liked student. You could tell from his days at the paper that he was interested in learning about the facts and finding out as much as he could about topics he liked." says GCC instructor Amy Slusser. "He took interest in local geography and hometown destinations and wanted to promote Batavia as a tourism destination."

Hillabush was well known for spending hours each week at sporting events and had a strong following in high school sports.

"He was very good at his job," says Batavia hockey coach Paul Pedersen. "He went the extra mile to cover the high school sports and was very passionate about the ones in the area, being that he was a local kid himself.

"He would go every day, game to game, and that was his life. It was awesome and the articles showed the time he put into each one of them. (Our) team went to states in 2002-2003 and he followed us to all the games that were way out of town. Him and (Mark) Gutman were stapled to us. Not every reporter does that. It was nice and made the kids feel special."

"Brian was passionate about how he represented, reported and worked with the local sports," stated Notre Dame Football coach and longtime friend Rick Mancuso. "He loved the kids he interacted with and he loved what he did.

"His passion was what set him apart from other people. He really was an advocate for high school sports.He worked very hard in everything he did and had a vision for how high school reporting should be."

Brian's work was appreciated by many and he was one of the few reporters that went out of his way to cover cheerleading as well.

"The first person to always cover our acomplishments was Brian," says former Batavia cheerleading captain Jamie Turman. "As a cheerleader it wasn't often that you would be in the limelight, but Brian always made our winnings known to our community.

"He understood that even though we were cheerleaders, we were proud of what we had done and what we had acomplished. He was amazing in the sense that he made all althelets feel great about what they had done no matter how big or small. He even took the time to talk to us and to learn about cheerleading to try and put himself in our shoes."

Hillabush's vision for high school sports started with a focus on the Genesee Region but quickly expanded to all of Section V. He played a major role in the lauch of SectionVTalksback.com, which is an online high school sports forum that allows athletes from all over the section to interact and chat about their sports.

"He had a great vision in kicking off probably one of the most succesful high school sports sites that exists in SectionVTalksback. He really did a great job at what he did. He will be missed by many," added Mancuso.

Friends may call on Sunday from 3 to 6 p.m. at H.E. Turner & Co. Funeral Home, 403 E. Main St., Batavia, where services will follow at 6 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family. Burial will be in Grand View Cemetery, Batavia.

The dispatch center was just informed that because of unspecified technical problems, National Grid is planning to cut power to the entire Village of Corfu at 4:30 p.m.

The outage will effect businesses, residence and street lights.

The person informing dispatch said, "unless the problem gets worse and they need to cut power sooner."

He requested traffic control for Main and Route 77 during the outage.

UPDATE 4:28 p.m.: No power outage will be necessary to fix the electrical problem this afternoon, according to National Grid.

The transformers can be switched out, replacing the broken one, without power loss.

There were no injuries in a two-car accident at Main and Swan streets at approximately 1:50 p.m.

Batavia police and fire departments responded.

Traffic going eastbound was slowed for about 15 minutes.

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) today called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to rescind inequitable cuts to education funding that unfairly burden Western New York’s children. In a letter to the governor, Assemblyman Hawley detailed the ways that the budget proposal favors downstate students at the expense of those Upstate.

“There should be no barrier when it comes to the education of our children,” said Hawley. “Upstate pupils are slated to receive substantially deeper cuts per pupil than those Downstate; an average of $800 more. I am sure you would agree that each and every child in New York State should receive an equal education.”

Full text of Hawley's letter after the jump:

Dear Governor Cuomo:

I would like to take this opportunity to share my constituents’ concerns over cuts to education in this year’s Executive Budget.

The proposed cuts to education show an inequity to rural and non-wealthy school districts which I represent. I believe each child should have the same opportunities regardless of their family’s geographic location. As you know, education is critical to the success for all children.

Please reconsider these unparalleled and inequitable education cuts per pupil. There should be no barrier when it comes to the education of our children. Upstate students are slated to receive substantially deeper cuts per pupil than those downstate, on average of $800 more. I am sure you would agree that each and every child in New York State should receive an equal education.

On behalf of all students who reside in Upstate New York, I urge you to reconsider the inequitable cuts to education and then, hopefully, rural students will not be penalized for the area in which they live.

Law enforcement units are in the area of the Tonawanda Indian Reservation searching for a black Sonoma pickup that may be driven by an alleged cigarette thief.

The driver is suspected of grabbing several cartons of cigarettes from a shop on the reservation and fleeing.

UPDATE 12:12 p.m.: A possible suspect stopped on Galloway Road.

A pair of brothers from Pavilion are being accused of dealing cocaine and were arraigned in Pavilion Town Court on Tuesday following their arrest by Deputy Brian Thompson.

Cocaine, marijuana and fireworks were allegedly found in their Ellicott Road home.

The brothers are David James (name redacted upon request) (top, right), 21, and (name redacted upon request) (bottom, left), 20.

Both were charged with criminal possession of a narcotic with intent to sell and criminal possession of marijuana, 4th, as well as unlawful dealing with fireworks.

Following their arraignment, they were released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

In separate investigations, the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force announced the arrest of three Batavia residents allegedly involved in drugs.

Accused of dealing cocaine is Juan A. Roman, 33, of Walnut Street.

Roman allegedly sold a quantity of cocaine to an undercover agent.

An arrest was made Tuesday by task force members and Batavia police officers after Roman was seen walking on Main Street.

He is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd.

Following his arraignment before Judge Robert C. Noonan, Roman was jailed without bail.

Arrested on Monday were Nicholas A. Pleace, 24, of Pratt Road and Suzan M. Fincher, 51, of Pratt Road.

Pleace and Fincher are accused of growing 19 marijuana plants at their residence on Pratt Road. They were also allegedly found in possession of cocaine and oxycodone.

The were both charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 2nd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th.

The pair were released under the supervision of Genesee Justice following an arraignment in front of Justice Mike Cleveland, Town of Batavia Court.

Yesterday a reader said she was hoping I would take some more pictures of the countryside of Genesee County again soon, and with a nice sky and a little time late yesterday afternoon, what more encouragement did I need?

I started out along Caswell Road near South Byron (the two pictures below) and then headed out to this cemetery (above) along Batavia-Byron Road, which I spied some time ago as a potentially good place for a sunset picture.

Brian Hillabush, who spent nearly a decade at  Batavia Daily News building a reputation as a solid sportswriter who cared about the players he covered, was found dead at his home in Batavia this evening.

He was 33.

No cause of death has been determined, according to Sgt. John Peck of the Batavia Police Department.

The coroner referred the case to the Monroe County Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

There was no evidence of foul play nor anything suspecious about his death, Peck said.

Hillabush joined the staff of The Batavian in September 2008 and was sports editor until February 2009 when the original owner of The Batavian, GateHouse Media, ended its association with the site and laid off Hillabush.

Brian had been attending Genesee Community College.

In the past hour or so dozens of messages of condolence have appeared on the wall of Hilly's Facebook page.

The Amputee Treatment Center in Batavia is holding a mural contest open to all Genesee County high school students. The theme is "Salute to All Veterans." The deadline for submission is June 1.

The winning artwork will be transferred onto the center's exterior west wall this summer.

Previously, that wall featured featured a two-story mural but now it's a blank slate awaiting a new mural. Imagine your artwork on display for the whole town to see!

The winner will also receive $250.

Submit artwork either by mail to the address below, or e-mail a scanned copy, with the subject line Mural Contest to:

lee.ann.patterson@hotmail.com

Amputee Treatment Center
8388 Lewiston Road
Batavia, NY  14020

Questions? E-mail Lee Ann Patterson at the above e-mail address or phone 343-4154.

All along the process, the city's 2011/12 budget had its detractors, from the 1.4-percent property tax increase to the $13 per household water and sewer rate increase and its creation of an economic development position.

But in the end, there were only two no votes among the nine Batavia City Council members as the budget passed muster Tuesday night.

"Batavia is in pretty good shape," said Councilman Frank Ferrando. "That took a lot of work the past three or four years. We've made cuts, we did away with the ambulance service, we did some things that weren't too easy and worked ourselves into a position from where I thought we could go bankrupt or 'where are we going to get the money?' to where we are today. This budget keeps that going. I think this is a sound budget."

Council members Sam Barone and Rose Mary Christian both voted "no."

The biggest objection raised by council members -- and by John Roach (top inset), the only citizen to speak to the budget -- was the creation of an economic development position.

The position will be funded by $10,000 from the city and money from the revolving loan grant fund.

"Nobody (from the GCEDC or BID) has come forward to say they want this position," said Councilwoman Kathy Briggs (bottom inset). "I question whether we can even use the revolving loan money. What did the original grant say about what percentage of the money can be used for administration? I think we need to put this on hold until some future time -- strike it out of the budget."

Councilman Bill Cox said at a time when the city's young people are moving elsewhere for jobs, and none of the critics of the plan have offered a better alternative for creating economic opportunity in the city, he supports creation of the position.

"We need take action," Cox said. "We need to take a step forward if we don’t take action on this we’re going to lose another year and we're going to go down even further. This is the only thing anybody has recommended that makes sense and is doable."

Councilman Bob Bialkowski raised concerns about increasing taxes at a time of economic distress. Bialkowski pointed to the situation in the Middle East and rising oil prices, rising grocery prices, and said -- along with the lack of cost-of-living adjustments for seniors on fixed incomes -- a tax increase is going to hit many people pretty hard.

Barone suggested there was still fat to be trimmed from the $22 million spending plan.

"I still think there are places we can cut," Barone said. "It's only 1.4 percent, but the economy is still in bad shape."

The tax hike amounts to about $70,000 in additional revenue for the city.

Stephanie Lynn Corke, 29, of Root Road, Albion, is charged with petit larceny. Corke is accused of taking possession of a dog owned by another person and making no effort to find the owner or return the dog.

Nicholas Aaron Doxey, 25, of Niagara Street, Lockport, is charged with petit larceny and endangering the welfare of a child. Doxey is accused of shoplifting from Target while in the presence of his child and family members under 17 years of age.

Joseph Thomas Bortel, 39, of Knowlesville Road, Oakfield, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, unlawful possession of marijuana and failure to keep right. Bortel was stopped at 4:49 p.m., Tuesday, in the area of 130 Bank St., Batavia, by Deputy Timothy Wescott.

After a heated meeting got confrontational, the Town of Batavia Planning Board agreed to table consideration of a proposed housing development until the next meeting on March 15. At issue, is whether to reopen the environmental review for "Gardner Estates."

Board members already approved the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), declaring the development would not negatively impact the surrounding area.

But, after a few discrepancies and minor changes to the project arose, Planning Board Chair Kathleen Jasinski invited the applicant, Frank Andolino, president of Nathanial Development, to come to the meeting to clarify a few points.

Instead, Andolino sent his attorney, James Bonsignore, of Fix Spindelman Brovitz & Goldman.

"I'm very disappointed," said Jasinski to Bonsignore as he sat down before the board.

"Not disappointed that you're here, but that he (Andolino) isn't."

It was clear throughout the meeting that most board members had an uneasy sense about the proposed Gardner Estates project. The newest proposal from the applicant is to build single-family homes off Clinton Street Road. Previous proposals included plans for apartments and/or duplex housing.

Board members basically told Bonsignore that they felt a little swindled when it came to two issues. (A) Planning for a cul-de-sac versus a road to connect with Clinton Street Road, and (B) the developer's funding sources.

Board members want to see what the state Department of Transportation has to say about the road options, so Tuesday evening focused on funding.

Most members of the board agree that they have asked many times in the past if the developer planned to use conventional or public funds. The latter would only be granted if low-income housing were part of the plans, hence their concern about the source of funding.

At past meetings, they were led to believe that public funds would not be used to finance the project.

"Whether or not this project is publicly funded has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not this application meets the zoning requirements for the division of land," Bonsignore said.

He acknowledged the question had been asked repeatedly but would not characterize the answers given. He claimed that at all times the question was "improper," and answers were "for informational purposes only."

A board member pointed out that they weren't called "improper" at the time and the replies indicated the project would use conventional funding.

Bonsignore told them "You can't reopen SEQR because you having second thoughts or you're regretting the determination...We said we intend to pursue conventional funding but we absolutely did not exclude the possibility of public funding.

"We never misrepresented anything. This is not a trial, and if this is how we are going to be questioned I am going to leave."

One board member cited two problems he had with public funds being used to build Gardner Estates. Chiefly, there's already an overload of public housing in the area. Secondly, the funds should not be "wasted" on building public housing in a community that already has plenty of it.

When the board agreed to table the issue, polite apologies were exchanged but there seemed to be a lingering distrust of the mysterious developer (who no one on the board has ever met or spoken with) and his intentions.

Board Member Lou Paganello said he has repeatedly tried to get information about the company and has come up with nothing but a Web site.

"I wasn't given any information about the company at all -- not just for the financing but for the reputable company that supposedly it is," Paganello said. "When you're talking about a project that concerns a town, you would think that you could come up with some information or a call or a letter and nothing happened. Nothing at all."