batavia

Kristin Adduci, 33, who works for Lewis and Lewis, a law firm with an office on Park Road in Batavia, is in the hospital following a skydiving accident in Orleans County.

Reportedly, Adduci deployed her chute too late and hit the ground faster than normal.

There's no word on the nature of her injuries.

Kristin and a group of other divers were practicing nighttime jumps at Pine Hill Airport in the Town of Barre on Saturday night.

She was airlifted to ECMC. 

Adduci lives in Buffalo.

Scott "Scotty" R. Johnson was found dead by his parents in his Oakfield home May 25.

He was 19.

His mother is a waitress at Settlers Family Restaurant and friends Sunday, June 14, at 1 p.m. to help raise money to help with expenses, and particularly provide Johnson with a headstone.

The car wash will be held in front of Billy Goats, 345 W. Main St.

Donations will also be accepted.

Michael Thompson, 41, of 28 Buell St., Batavia, is charged with criminal position of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance outside its original container. Thompson was allegedly found to possess four white oblong pills with markings M/367 in a cigarette pack. The pills are identified by Sheriff's deputies as Hydrocodone.

Carrie Blaszak, 38, of 7893 Townline Road, Bergen, is charged with harassment. Blaszak is accused of having a physical confrontation with another person.

Justin P. McInerney, 20, of 188 Gregory Place, Grand Island, and Steven P. Subsara, 21, of 747 Genesee St., Grand Island, are accused with hosting an under-age drinking party at 8148 South Lake Road, Corfu, early Sunday morning, about 3:30 a.m. Both were charged with unlawfully dealing with a child.

Daniel Denault, 18, of 272 Crowley Drive, Buffalo, is accused of stealing a pack of gum at Darien Lake. He is charged with petty larceny.

Andrew Rogers, 19, 153 E. Hazeltine Ave., Kenmore, was supposed for alleged traffic violations on Route 77 in Corfu and found to allegedly possess marijuana. He is charged with unlawful possession of Marijuana.

A 17-year-old from Lakeview is accused driving while intoxicated at Darien Lake. The youth was reportedly observed driving at a high rate of speed in the parking lot. He is charged with DWI with a BAC of .08 or greater and driving out of restrictions.

Local Batavia area motorcycle club, The Mayhem Riders, needs riders to help support a good cause. We will be riding from Stan's Harley Davidson in Batavia to the Arcade Speedway, We will be doing parade laps around the track at halftime just before they present the money to the united way officials. Please come out and help us support the community.

JUNE 12 2009

webmaster@mayhemriders.com

The sign up and starting point will be at Stan's Harley Davidson in Batavia next to the airport. Sign up will be from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., kickstands up at 5:30 p.m., then we will meet at Tops in Arcade at 6:45 p.m., leaving from Tops at 7p.m., arriving at the Arcade speedway at 7:15 p.m. If you need information go to the clubs website,or email the club:  http://www.mayhemriders.com

We will be hosting a "UNITED WAY" night on June 12th. We are working with several people in an effort to raise funds to support the efforts of United Way. Times are tough for all but no matter how tough it is for you it is probably worse for someone else. Please give generously. Check out their website.

BIKERS FOR A CAUSE FUN RUN

Dan Jr went to Niagra Falls ,Friday with the middle School on a field trip.He took the kodak z650 camera.He got some good picss.

Do you remember the bleachers at Kibbe Park and the concession stand that sold ice cream under the bleachers?  I believe the Anzalone family ran that stand.

A vintage jet based at the Genesee County Airport and once restored and owned by actor John Travolta crashed yesterday due to engine failure.

The 1947 Viper came down just short of the runway at 3:20 p.m. at  Rochester International Airport after the pilot tried to return to the airport five minutes after takeoff.

The pilot, Peter Treichler, 40, of East Aurora, suffered a back injury and is in satisfactory condition, reported the Democrat and Chronicle.

The wooden aircraft hit on its belly. Pieces were scattered 200 feet and the runway was shut down for three hours, causing flight delays and some cancellations.

UPDATE: RNews has a picture of the crashed plane.

A traffic accident involving a car and a motorcycle at 4164 Rose Road has been cleared.

There were no injuries, though the initial dispatch included an ambulance because of the report of a minor injury.

There was a small amount of gas spill reported.

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Matthew Bratcher, 19, of Hamburg, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Bratcher was camping at site #729 of the Darian Lakes Campground when deputies found him allegedly in possession of a pipe containing marijuana residue.

Michael G. Huskins, 37, of Bergen, was arrested Friday morning for alleged DWI. State troopers stopped Huskins on Route 98 for allegedly failing to keep right. Upon investigation, the trooper suspected Huskin of being intoxicated and placed him under arrest. His reported BAC was .12 percent. He was issued an appearance ticket.

The following suspected DWI arrests were made by New York State Police following the Kenny Chesney concert at Darien Lake on Thursday.

Norine V. Bushen, 54, of Hamburg, was stopped for a suspected traffic violation on Colby Road in the Town of Darien.  Upon investigation, the trooper suspected Bushen was intoxicated and placed her under arrest. She is accused of having a BAC of .08 or greater. Bushen was issued an appearance ticket.

Chad W. Robinson, 22, of Lancaster, was stopped on Sumner Road for an alleged traffic violation.  The trooper suspected Robinson of being intoxicated and placed him under arrest.  He is accused of having a BAC of .19 percent. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Christina J. Wilson, 25, of Rochester, allegedly attempted to turn into a parking lot through the exit. After an interview, she was placed under arrested for a suspected DWI. Her reported BAC was .10 percent. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Caitlin L. Neill, 20, of Almond, was stopped on Route 33 in Pembroke for an alleged traffic violation.  The trooper suspected she was intoxicated and placed her under arrest. Her reported BAC was .10 percent. She was issued an appearance ticket.

Can anyone explain why the traffic lights on Main St., between the hours of 6pm and 6am. are not regulated by a trip light?

With the exception of Oak St. and the light in front of the Post Office at the confluence of Main St. and Ellicott St.,  red lights on Main St. should be activated by traffic coming off the side streets.  There is no reason, for example, that the lights at the intersection of Main and Ross; Main and Vine; and Main and Harvester should change so fast as to not allow cars waiting on the side streets to enter Main St.

For example, you hit the red light at the corner of Harvester and Main with the intention of turning left onto Main St.  That light stays red for at least four minutes.  The light only stays green long enough for one or two cars to make the turn.  If you are the fourth car in line then you wait another four mnutes for the light to change again.

Any answers?

Paul R. Tenney, 39, of Batavia, is accused of stealing more than $100,000 from his employer, Elcon Inc., located on Alexander Road in the Town of Batavia.

Between January 2008 and March 2009, Tenney allegedly forged business checks and falsified business records.

Tenney is charged with three felonies: grand larceny in the second degree, forgery in the second degree and falsifying business records in the first degree.

He is being held in Genesee County Jail on $10,000 bail.

The investigation was conducted by Kirsopher Kautz with the assistance of the Genesee County District Attorney's Office.

Amanda T. Sterzick, 37, of 3 Maple St., Batavia (pictured), allegedly sold 20 hydrocodone pills to an undercover agent with the Genesee County Local Drug Task Force. Sterzick has been charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance. At the time of her arrest, she had $1,237 in cash. She is held in Genesee County Jail without bail.

Jarrett M. Hoffman, 20, of 9307 Asbury Road, Le Roy, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and aggrevated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Hoffman was stopped for allegedly making two turns without a turn signal. He was issued an appearance ticket and released.

UPDATE: Just in:

Timothy O. "Cricket" Lee, 28, of 20 Ross St., Apt. 2, Batavia, is accused of selling crack cocaine while being observed by members of the Genesee County Local Drug Task Force. At the time of his arrest, Lee allegedly had $1,840 in cash. Lee is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana. He is being held without bail.

The first round of reports on the proposed consolidation of the town and city are now available:

• First Report to the Community — A Vision for One Batavia
• PP Presentation to City Council & Town Board 6-1-09
• Public Forums to be Held June 18 & June 30
• Press Release 6-1-09 — A Vision for One Batavia

Ward 2 City Council represenative Marianne Clattenburg is getting the GOP nod for a Batavia at-large council position in the November election.

The GOP met tonight and endorsed Clattenburg, as well as incumbents Frank Ferrando and Tim Buckley.

If Clattenburg won the at-large seat, under council rules, a Republican would be selected to assume the remainder of her Ward 2 term.

Tune in to WBTA in the morning for more coverage of the endorsements.

City Manager Jason Molino submitted two letters detailing the hiring process that led to the appointment of Tom Dillon as interim fire chief last year, as well as how Dillon would be replaced, but the NYS Civil Service Commission still denied the city's request for a 211 waiver because of insufficient detail, according to documents obtained by The Batavian today.

"The Municipal Service Division recommends that the State Civil Service Commission disapprove this request for lack of details on the results of the interviewing process," writes state staff in its recommendation to the commission.

The recommendation contradicts the detail on recruitment efforts and interviewing contained in two letters, with attachments, provided by Molino to the commission. One letter was submitted Oct. 8, 2008 and another on Jan. 16, 2009, four days before the commission notified Molino the city had not responded to its request for more information.

"We sent them everything they asked for," Molino said in an interview this afternoon.

Dillon resigned as fire chief last month after the state ruled that he could not continue to receive his pension from his 29 years with the Rochester Fire Department and draw a full-time salary in Batavia.  The city sought what is known as a 211 waiver, which is designed to help local governments fill vacant positions, especially on an interim basis, with retirees.

Molino attributed the denial of the waiver more (as we covered in a previous post) to a change in the state's willingness to grant 211 waivers.

"The whole point of the 211 process, it was created for interim positions for temporary periods of time and what's happened over the years is people have taken interim positions and turned them into permanent ones," Molino said.

The commission was told, Molino noted, that Dillon's appointment was intended to be temporary because at the beginning of the process, there was still some thought that the charter review process might led to a unified chief executive for police and fire (it turns out that isn't permissible under state law).

The city wanted to keep Dillon on until either a unified position was created or a civil service test for the position could be administered in January 2010.

"The other part of it was we weren't going to fill it permanently until this charter review was completed, and if there was a change in direction, we would change with it, otherwise, we would move forward with the test in January," Molino said.

The documents also reveal that prior the appointment of Dillon, all four Batavia Fire captains were considered for the position, but none were eligible for promotion.

The Batavian made its initial FOIL request the documents related to the city's waiver request a month ago. The FOIL request was fulfilled today.  Here are the documents (large PDF file).

A driver who's car slammed into a tree on Fargo Road says he was run off the road by another vehicle.

The call just came in.

Another driver picked up the driver involved in the accident and took him or her to a nearby residence. The driver reportedly suffered a minor injury, but an ambulance is not required.

There were two arrests at the Coldplay concert last night at Darien Lake, according to a report released by the Sheriff's Office.

Matthew J. Norstrand, 24, of Le Roy, was arrested for allegedly possessing marijuana and smoking a pipe containing marijuana. Norstrand was ejected from the concert and told not to return. Later, Norstrand was reportedly spotted back inside the concert venue. He was arrested again and charged with trespass.

Daniel Norstrand, 53, of Le Roy, was charged with criminal trespass after allegedly jumping a fence and entering the backstage area.

Also from the Sheriff's Office:

Christopher Stewart, 40, of Avon, is charged with criminal contempt. He allegedly called and spoke with a person he has been ordered not to contact.

A united Batavia will clearly lead to cost savings now and in the future consultant Charles Zettek, Jr. told a join meeting of the Batavia City Council and Batavia Town Board this evening.

The immediate savings, conservatively speaking is $943,000, with additional annual savings in future years, said Zettek, VP of Government Management Services.

"There will be no negative impact on the property tax burdens (for residents of both the town and the city)," Zettek said.

Tonight's meeting was designed to present the consolidation committee's report, titled "A Vision of One Batavia," to elected officials from both agencies.

While the meeting was open to the public, questions and discussion were restricted to elected officials and committee members.

The 15 page report will be released on the Web to the public tomorrow along with all the supporting documents, such as spreadsheets comparing city and town expenses and revenues.

A large portion of the "cost savings" actually comes in the form of additional revenue from the state to reward government agencies consolidating services.

That $790,000 per year is would be a perpetual grant annual grant to the new consolidated government. 

There would be additional savings from efficiencies gained by the consolidation, even though no current jobs would be eliminated.  Work force would be reduced over the first five years of the new government through attrition and retirement.

Insuring there is no negative impact on taxpayers is achieved by creating a three-tiered system of taxes and spending that would prevent the town, for example, from being burdened by city debt or the expense of fully funded police and fire operations.

In the new system, Tier 1 would cover the consolidated region, both city and town. Tier 2 would be the current city and Tier 3 would be the current town.

Tier 1 would pay for and receive services and government agencies that serve both parts of the new jurisdiction equally, such as public works and city/town administration.

Tier 2 would pay for and receive the services currently received by city residents, such as police and fire protection and garbage collection. Tier 2 taxpayers would also shoulder the burden of the city's existing debt until it was paid off.

Tier 3 would continue to receive fire protection from the volunteer fire departments and police protection from the Sheriff's Office.  Taxes would not be increased in Tier 3 to pay for Tier 2 services or debt.

As for whether the new jurisdiction would be a city or a town, that's yet to be decided, but Lynn Freeaman said the committee saw more advantages, both in cost savings and grants from the state, in forming a new city government rather than a town.

Audio:

• Frank Ferrando praises work of committee.
• Beverly Mancuso on pioneering effort
• Lynn Freeman on benefits of city form of government
• Post meeting interview with Charles Zettek
• Post meeting interview with Jason Molino

UPDATE: I forgot to include: There will be two public meetings where residents can weigh in and ask questions. One June 18 and one June 30, both at 7 p.m.  One will be at Town Hall, one at City Hall, though which one on which date has yet to be determined. Also if it looks like turn out will be sufficient, one will be at Batavia High School.  Since there are many details to flesh out, and options to be considered, public input is an important part of the process.