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A juror in the Scott Doll murder trial contacted The Batavian today and after confirming the juror's identity, we agreed to anonymously publish this account of the juror's experience.

I just have a couple things to say about the Scott Doll trial. I was a  juror who sat in the front row. I would not like to give my name or my number as I am not trying to cause any problems with this statement, just  want to clear some things up, that have been on my mind since last Thursday.

I wanted to start off by saying that none of us in the jury chose to be in that box for the three weeks, we were chosen by both sides of the case as they felt we were the most impartial and non-biased individuals out of the pool they had to choose from. That being said, I would like to also tell everyone that none of us had preconceived notions as to the guilt or innocence of Mr. Doll. And for those of you who have comments such as "shame  on the Jury," you were not in that deliberation room discussing the facts/evidence so you have no idea what we went through.

No one but the 12 of us that were locked in that room for 12 hours knows what we discussed, and let me tell you there was quite a lot of discussion taking place. I do not like the fact that almost instantly people comment that we locked up an innocent man, that there is a "real" murderer on the streets. To you all, we all examined the evidence, and listened to all the testimonies. We all listened to the opinions and concerns that each of us had, and NO ONE was forced into making a guilty verdict when we took our  final vote.

We DID NOT rush things to get it over with. Anyone who had reservations on coming up with a verdict was allowed to voice their opinions. It all comes back to the evidence. Mr. Cambria told us to use our "common sense" when it came to deliberating on a verdict. We all felt that the evidence all pointed back to Mr. Doll, and to us that was "Common Sense" as that is what the evidence showed us. If there had been other evidence showing otherwise we would have considered it.

For the record, it's not the easiest thing to give a guilty verdict either. Knowing someone's life was in our hands weighed on our hearts and minds those final minutes of the trial. And it is definitely not easy to hear the cries and look at the faces of the family either, even when you know that the right thing was done according to the evidence that was presented to us. I'm sorry if that upsets some of you reading this, but trust me I have not nor will I ever forget this event. I have certainly not moved on with my life and left it behind. And I hope to never have to do something like this again.

My thoughts and prayers are with both the Doll family as well as the Benaquist family. I know that both families are now missing a member, and things will never be the same, and that is something that I will think about daily, for the rest of my life. If anyone thinks otherwise they are greatly mistaken.

Sixty-two drivers in Batavia received traffic citations in May as part of a joint Batavia PD and State Police effort to crack down on mobile phone use and seat belt violators.

The Batavia Police received a grant earlier to help fund increased enforcement of these laws as part of a statewide effort.

In May, checkpoints were set up on Law, Clinton and Oak streets.

The State Police cooperated in the last location, setting up its Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit. Nine tickets were issued to truck drivers at the checkpoint near the Thruway entrance.

The city will conduct future enforcement actions as part of the grant it received from the governor's Traffic Safety Committee.

CORRECTION: Lt. Henning informed me that I got my enforcement grants mixed up. The grant for this particular set of checkpoints was for police to look for vehicle violations. You drive through a check point and the police check your registration and inspection, etc.  There is another grant, also still active in the city, for seat belt and mobile phone violations.  The May results of that enforcement effort have not been released yet.

A fight-in-progress has been reported at a residence near Pontillo's.

A dog was reportedly being used to attack a victim.

Police are on scene and have requested Mercy EMS for a person with cuts to the leg.

UPDATE 8:40 p.m.: A second ambulance has been requested to 516 E. Main St., where Mercy EMS reports a second victim needing transport to a hospital.

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When it comes to tax incentive packages, Genesee County has a few advantages over Monroe County, because of programs available targeted specifically for rural counties, according to Chris Suozzi, VP of business development for the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

So when Brothers International announced it was abandoning Batavia, where it was founded in 2001, for Rochester, Souzzi concluded it wasn't purely a business decision.

"In my mind it was more of a personal decision on where they wanted to locate the company," Souzzi said.

We have a call into Travis Betters at Brothers International to get his take on the relocation decision.

Souzzi said he last met with Brothers six months ago and presented a side-by-side comparison of the Genesee County package with the Monroe County package. He said it "opened their eyes" about what Genesee County had to offer and was under the impression they would "stay put in Batavia."

He didn't learn of the decision by Brothers to move until Monroe County put out a press release about the location change.

While the current Brothers location is in an empire zone, to date the company has received no tax assistance through GCEDC, Souzzi said.

City employee Brian Metz hangs a flower basket from one of the light standards in Downtown Batavia. 

I often drive by the Skate park off Evans Street on my way home and think -- I should take some pictures there, but usually, the skaters just seem to be milling about. Today, they were doing some jumps, so I thought this might be a good photo opportunity.

I met Moosie Gard, Isaiah Munroe (above), Dimetrious Williams, Justin Barton and Mike Leon. 

Leon wasn't doing a lot of skating while I was there, but the other four are featured in the shots after the jump:

This last photo is Moosie. After I finished taking my shots, I went to collect their names and couldn't help but notice Moosie's striking eyes. I asked him about them and he said they're contacts. He said he has a whole collection of different color lenses.

Rather than auction away foreclosed homes, maybe the city should offer them first, at a minimal cost, to city employees, Councilman Tim Buckley suggested at Monday's Batavia City Council meeting.

His idea met with some resistance, particularly Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian, who said any such program should be open to the entire community.

But the gist of Buckley's proposal got some support -- rather than auction off homes that the city has seized for unpaid taxes, the city should create a program to turn them into owner-occupied residences. Instead of taking a chance that through the auction process they become rentals, find buyers who want to fix them up as their own homes.

"We should set up some type of committee to look into taking foreclosures and selling the property at a minimum cost to employees with some guarantees, and one of the guarantees would be that would agree to live in the property or five years," Buckley said.

In Buckley's plan, city employees would get the property a low cost, giving them instant equity that they could borrow against and invest $20,000 to $30,000 in home restoration.

There are 130 people employed by the city.

“When I was a young patrolman, I know I would have jumped at a program like this,“ Buckley said.

Christian said she was totally against the idea of making such a program available only to city employees.

"I would rather offer it to the whole community than just one single group," Christian said.

Councilman Frank Ferrando struck a middle ground, saying opening such a program to the whole community at first might pose too many complications.

"I think what Tim is saying will give us better control, and if the program works, we can expand later," Ferrando said.

City Manager Jason Molino agree to research a similar program Buckley said was once in place in Rochester, as well as what other cities might be doing along similar lines, and report back to the council.

Batavia City Council members have some concerns about a Sheriff's Office proposal to build an emergency holding area for prisoners north of the Genesee County Jail in a current parking area and driveway immediately off Porter Avenue.

The need for the emergency evacuation area is being mandated by the state -- the jail needs a place to put detainees in an emergency situation where they must leave the jailhouse.

The holding area would be surrounded by a chainlink fence, and the county requires an easement from the city to install it.

Councilman Bill Cox raised the concern that in a few years the jail may very well move -- perhaps to a joint facility with Orleans County -- and the proposed evacuation area wouldn't be needed. But if the city grants a permanent easement, it may not be able to get the land back.

He wants the county to agree to remove any structures at its own expense should the need for the facility change.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski raised an issue about limited parking. Currently, the county has 11 parking spaces in the proposed holding area. That parking, apparently, would be pushed into space now used by the Batavia Police Department.

The council asked for more information before voting on the easement proposal at its next business meeting.

Photo Illustration: Satellite image from Google Maps of the jail and police building. The highlighted area is approximately where the holding area would be. This is not an official government document or actual representation of the fence line.

City Fire is being dispatched to 466 Ellicott St., Time Bomb Tattoo, for a car fire behind the building.

Batavia Police used a Taser last night to subdue a man wanted for allegedly getting in a fight earlier.

In all, police made three arrests at 17 Holland Ave.

Officers arrived on scene at 11:09 p.m. looking for 24-year-old Steven Hirsch, intending to arrest him on a charge of harassment, 2nd.

Timothy Hirsch, 24, allegedly attempted to obstruct police officers and placed his hands on one of the officers.

Steven Hirsch, according to a police report, refused to comply with police officers' orders and physically resisted their attempt to arrest him. He got Tasered.

During the incident, Jennifer Stack, 24, of 12 Oak St., Batavia, was allegedly on the street yelling obscenities at police officers.

Steven Hirsch was jailed on $2,000 bail, charged with harassment and resisting arrest.

Timothy Hirsch was jailed on $1,000 bail and charged with obstructing governmental administration.

Stack was issued an appearance ticket for alleged disorderly conduct.

Responding to the call were officers Darryle Streeter, Frank Klimjack, E.E. Bolles, Chris Camp and Sgt. Mullen.

An unknown type of wire is down across the roadway at 136 Bank St. in the City of Batavia, between North Street and Washington Avenue.

Batavia Fire is responding.

UPDATE (2:10 p.m.): The wire was a cable wire pulled down by a truck. It is cleared and the resident has been notified about the broken wire.

A house on Cleveland Road was seriously damaged after a driver failed to negotiate the sharp bend in the roadway.

The accident occurred at 5:21 p.m., Sunday.

The house, at 2047 Cleveland Road, suffered a cracked foundation, cracked walls and extensive interior damage.

The driver, James C. Emerson, 48, of State Street, Batavia, complained of injuries but was not transported to a hospital.

No citations are reported on the investigation report by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Emerson told Reeves that he wasn't expecting Cleveland Road to suddenly have a turn where it did.

Gregory Seppe, 51, no permanent address, is charged with appearance in public under the influence of narcotics or drugs other an alcohol. Seppe was taken into custody after he appeared in the city at several different locations. At 11:05 a.m., Saturday, police responded to another complaint reportedly about Seppe at 412 E. Main St., Batavia, where he was taken into custody.

Mark E. Flemming, 20, of 62 Swan St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. At 5:09 a.m., Sunday, Batavia Police responded to an alleged domestic incident and took Flemming into custody.

Megan Elizabeth Buss, 21, of Alicia Circle, Churchville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 and moving from lane unsafely. Buss was charged following a car-into-pole accident on Peachy Road at 6:12 a.m., Sunday.

Kendric Lydell White, 27, of Affinity Lane, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. White was arrested following a vehicle check at Darien Lake.

Tyree Elijah Smith, 28, of Sunset Street, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Smith was arrested following a vehicle check at Darien Lake.

Paula Ann Kingdollar, 41, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Kingdollar is accused of stealing perfume from Kmart.

Edward Joseph Kutas, 18, of Woodside Lane, Depew, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Kutas is accused of hosting an underage drinking party at a residence on Darien-Alexander Townline Road. He was arrested early Sunday morning.

Brandon M. Klinkbeil, 23, of 80 South Street, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, not wearing a seat belt, and operating an unregistered vehicle. Klinkbeil was stopped at 2:41 a.m., Sunday, by Le Roy Police Sgt. William Hare.

Dennis N. Gonglewski, 49, of Colonial Avenue, Kenmore, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 and failure to keep right. Gonglewski was stopped at 10:45 p.m., Friday, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Three 17-year-olds were arrested for alleged shoplifting by Batavia Police 12:10 p.m., Friday and charged with petit larceny. All three youths are Batavia residents. The trio is accused of trying to steal $58.90 in merchandise from Tops Market.

Gordon C. Gonyo, 56, of Byron Road, Byron, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right and consumption of alcohol in a vehicle. Gonyo was stopped at 12:26 p.m., Friday, by Deputy Chris Parker after a witness reported an erratic operator in the area of Bryon Road.

Jeremy Andrew Douglas, 29, of Crosby Lane, Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Douglas was stopped for an alleged traffic violation by Deputy Brian Thompson at 6:40 a.m., Thursday, on Bank Street Road in the Town of Batavia.

On Thursday, we published a picture of the winners of GCASA's "drug free" poster contest. Laura Russell Ricci later sent along scans of the actual winning posters.

Above is a submission by Sarah Scott, and below, Nathan Moore.

More winning posters after the jump.

Stephanie Hoy

Gemma B.

Jacob Cryer

Caitlin Napper

Aidan Berne

Aiden Sisson

In a media release from Assemblyman Steve Hawley's office on Friday, he expressed acute exasperation for the "lack of Albany leadership" which continues to delay completion of the 2010-11 State Budget.

After a legislative leaders met last week, he says "it became all too clear that even after being more than 50 days late, the Majority parties in both the Assembly and Senate are not concerned about passing the state budget.

"Even worse was the fact that during the public meeting, Assembly Speaker Silver and Senator Sampson confirmed that not only is there no current plan in place to pass a budget, but there are no plans to make plans. This is absolutely unacceptable and New York taxpayers deserve better."

The assemblyman notes that in 2007, rules reforms for the budget process were put in place, requiring the Legislature to produce state revenue forecasts and appoint members to joint conference committees to negotiate the differences between each house’s proposed budget.

He claims none of these rules have been followed and "Albany has reverted to the ‘three men in a room’ style of government."

Over the last several weeks, Governor Paterson, Speaker Silver, and the Senate Majority Leader Sampson have left rank-and-file members of the Assembly and Senate out of budget negotiations, leaving us to vote on trivial legislation like the protection of seahorses, according to Hawley.

"My colleagues and I in the Minority Conference have repeatedly asked that timetables be announced. Additionally, we’ve offered specific cost-saving proposals to the governor and both Majority conferences that would close the current $9.2 billion budget gap by cutting state spending, stopping backdoor borrowing, and reforming the budget process to make it more transparent and accountable.

"These measures would not only close the current budget gap, but will lay the framework for a more fiscally responsible state spending plan and help prevent future gaps from occurring. Unfortunately, we have been ignored while the Majority parties continue to argue amongst themselves about where to increase taxes and how to continue state borrowing, policies that put our state in this fiscal crisis to begin with.

Hawley continues "Albany has mismanaged New York tax dollars for decades, and now in the midst of an economic slow down, have continued to do so. The actions, or more appropriately inactions, of the ‘three men in a room’ have caused our schools, local governments, contractors, state parks, and small businesses to suffer.

"I will continue to demand that the Assembly and Senate majorities follow state budget reform laws and convene conference committees so the budget can be finished. New York taxpayers are fed up, and my colleagues in the Majority parties should start listening.