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Agritourism is itself a growing industry in New York and with Genesee County being a major contributor to the state's agriculture industry, Genesee Community College hosted a free agritourism symposium yesterday.

The event was organized by Amy Slusser, professor of GCC’s Tourism and Hospitality Management Program.

“Our region of New York State offers some of the best agritourism opportunities in the nation,” Slusser said. “From our dairies for cheese and yogurt, while not forgetting milk, butter and of course, ice cream, to the many acres of fruits and vegetables. And, New York wineries are now competing with great success against both European and Californian varietals. Now is the time for agritourism in the Upstate New York.”

Sophie Winter, Ph.D., was the keynote speaker with a theme of “Evolution, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Agritourism.” A native of Southern France, Winter earned her master’s degree in Agricultural Business from Illinois State University and her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Arizona State University. Currently, she teaches agricultural marketing, sales, retail management and entrepreneurship at SUNY Cobleskill.

There was also a panel discussion with:

• Barbara Dominesey, general manager of Hidden Valley Animal Adventures in Varysburg;
• Chad Heeb, director of marketing of New York Chips and Marquart Farms in Gainesville; and
• Betty Burley, owner of East Hill Creamery in Perry.

Photos courtesy GCC.

Press release:

The New York State Association of Magistrates Court Clerks Inc. honors one of its members each year for his or her service and contributions not only to the State Association but to his or her County Association, community and colleagues by exhibiting leadership and assistance in all duties of our profession. 

The 2017 Court Clerk of the Year award was presented during the Awards Banquet of our Annual Conference held in Ellicottville on Sept. 24. It was a privilege to present this prestigious award to a local resident, Pamela Thurber. 

Pam has been a court clerk for seven years.  She has previously served as a court clerk in the Village of Corfu and the Town of Darien.  She currently holds the Court Clerk positions in the Village of Attica and Town of Alabama. 

Attending the award presentation were Pam’s family, significant other -- Michael Lute, sons -- Peyton and Colton, mother – Deb, sister - Terra, father --  Ron and stepmom Barb. Also in attendance were the Honorable John Tauscher, Town of Alabama, and the Honorable Julie Perry, Town and Village of Attica.

Judge Perry sent a heartwarming letter of recommendation stating why Pam was worthy of this great award. Judge Perry stated how efficient Pam was in her job, but what struck the award committee greatly, was that Judge Perry stated: “Every so often we meet people in our lives that leave an impact that cannot be described.” She hopes Pam will sit by her side on the bench for the remainder of her career.

Pam has a long list of involvements in our association as well as her community.  She serves as a county representative for Genesee County. She serves as a mentor for court clerks in her county, giving them a one on one training. Pam is an active member of the Genesee and Wyoming County Magistrate and Court Clerk Associations, and currently participating on a committee for centralized arraignments.

Pam is one of the “new kids” on the association’s board of directors. Last fall, she jumped in with both feet as soon as she was elected to the position of Director. She immediately volunteered to co-chair the publicity/media committee and was the lead in our website relaunch. Our NYSAMCC Web designer Ray sent me an email stating “I have to share with you that Pam has been a sport and a tremendous help. She has organized everything very well and made it as simple as can be for me to create this website from the start.”

Most recently, Pam has taken over the position of Editor in Chief for our association’s bi-annual magazine, "The Docket." Her first edition was recently released and was nothing short of spectacular! 

Nominations for Pam came from more than one clerk in her area, they all commented that Pam is smart, hardworking, detail oriented and very organized.  She is patient, understanding and kind and will step up to help anyone who asks. She is always willing to get involved to help her fellow clerks and will bend over backward to help educate the clerks in her county, district and all clerks of New York State. 

Pam’s journey as a court clerk has not always been the smoothest. She accepted a position in 2011 to replace a court clerk who was charged and convicted of stealing money from the court. She spent years cleaning up the mess that was left behind when the dust settled. Pam learned so much from that experience that last summer she co-authored a presentation for clerks called “Surviving an Audit.” She has been able to teach her fellow clerks real-life examples of what to expect during an audit, how clerks can be prepared for an audit, and best recordkeeping practices. 

“Pam is truly an example of what a court clerk should be. I am thankful to have her as a colleague and to have her serve on my team!” said Gillian Koerner, Town and Village of Arcade court clerk and president of the New York State Association of Magistrates Court Clerks Inc.

A man suspected of the murder and rape of a toddler, whom authorities thought might head to Western New York, was arrested early this morning in Franklin Park, Pa., according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Yesterday, State Police and Sheriff's deputies conducted a search of an area along the north side of the Thruway in Batavia after callers reported seeing a man who matched the description of the suspect, 37-year-old Joshua Gurto. Two K-9s were unable to detect fresh human scent anywhere in the area and the search was called off after about an hour.

Franklin Park is a three-hour, 37-minute drive from Batavia.

It's unknown at this point, of course, if Gurto ever was in Batavia.

Fourteen-year-old Andrew Young Jr., from Alexander, is in the running for a $250,000 invention price for the device he dreamed up himself, a toaster that shoots the toast out onto a plate.

Andrew is one of five inventors from around the nation competing for the top prize with the winner picked solely on the votes of people who support their inventions.

A point to clarify: You are allowed to vote more than once. You can vote every day.  Voting ends Nov. 27. To help you cast your vote each day, we've added a link to the voting site to the left side of our homepage, above the login box.

Click here to vote.

Previously: Alexander resident invents 'toaster shooter,' becoming finalist in national competition

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia will host its 60th annual Pancake Days on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Joseph School in Batavia.

Tickets are $6 for an adult and $4 for children and seniors.

This fundraiser helps the Kiwanis Club support local youth organizations and helps events such as the Easter Egg Hunt at Centennial Park, the Thanksgiving morning skate at Falleti Ice Arena and the Holiday Tote Project. 

Pictured: Ben Landers, bottom left, Riley Yunker, Summer Campopiano, Kaitlyn Landers, Sofia Falleti, Mary Case, Matt Landers, Jeannie Walton, Gary Maha and Susan Maha. The St. Joe's students are members of K-Kids.

The missing vulnerable adult from Leicester, Starrlita Smith, has been located, according to the Livingston County Sheriff's Office.

There was no information released about the condition of the 21-year-old woman nor the circumstances of her disappearance. 

Previously: Genesee County added to search area for missing vulnerable adult

There are reportedly minor injuries after a motorcycle struck a cow in front of 2225 Bennett Road, Darien.

Darien fire and ambulance responding.

The 2018 budget County Manager Jay Gsell is filing contains a property tax rate increase of six cents, to $10.13 per thousand of assessed value.

The manager's budget only becomes law if the County Legislature fails to pass a budget before the end of December.

At a meeting of the whole yesterday, no member of the Legislature expressed outright support for the increase and several said they oppose it and want to hold the rate at $10.07.

To do that, legislators will need to appropriate another $186,000 from reserve funds or find an equal amount of spending to cut.

Gsell's budget already calls for spending down the reserves again by $1 million.

“We’ve got the money, we should use it," said Chairman Ray Cianfrini. "I don’t think we should be hitting the public with another tax increase. Right or wrong, I think they think perception-wise that the Nursing Home money is money we have to apply toward this. I’m just throwing that out as my recommendation.”

Legislator Marianne Clattenburg said, “You’ve got to remember, people’s assessments went up, so their taxes are already going up.”

Both John Deleo and Ed DeJaneiro expressed opposition.

"I don’t think I could vote for a budget unless we went to $10.07," DeJaneiro said.

Now that Gsell has submitted the manager's budget, legislators will have two weeks before a public hearing to make their suggestions for fine-tuning the revenue and spending plans.

The county's spending plan for 2018 calls for a total expenditure of $130,180,842, which will be paid for by a combination of state and federal reimbursements and local property and sales taxes along with miscellaneous fees and use taxes.

The property tax levy under Gsell's plan is $29,492,783. That's an increase in the levy of $268,120, which is within the state's two-percent tax cap mandate.

That mandate is being made tougher by Albany. The Raise the Age law passed earlier this year -- which will bring more 16- and 17-year-olds accused of crimes into the Family Court system -- was written to withhold funds for reimbursements for additional expenses from the law to counties that fail to hold the line on the two-percent cap.

This is also the first year the county is not saddled with the expense of the Genesee County Nursing Home, with its 160 jobs (full-time equivalents) and $16 million budget, which was draining as much as $2 million from local taxpayers each year.

There remain 540 FTEs on the county's books. Personnel is the largest expenditure for the county, but the pressure of the expense has been mitigated the county's share of the state's pension program remaining flat for 2018, more employees falling under Tier IV of the pension program, and the cost-savings success of the county's health coverage program, which now has employees contributing 10 to 20 percent of the premiums.

Unfunded state-mandated expenses continue to eat up a good portion of the tax levy. The 8-9 programs cost local taxpayers $22,315,765, or 76 percent of the levy. Medicaid is $9.4 million of that expense.

In all, Department of Social Services provides health aid to 12,500 senior citizens, children and adults in need at a cost of $95 million (most of which is covered by State and Federal expenditures).  About 60 percent of the expenditure is for long-term nursing care.

Other unfunded mandates include indigent defense, pre-K/elementary handicapped education services, probation, mental health, the jail, Safety Net, family assistance, child welfare and youth detention, according to Gsell's budget message.

Another mandate Gsell knocks in his message is the requirement from Albany that counties give raises to district attorneys. On April 1, the DA's salary will go up to $193,000 and there's nothing local elected officials can do about it.

"This is merely a reflection of the unilateral and paternalistic attitude of Albany and the disregard for local county government fiscal constraints," Gsell said.

The most significant personnel change in the budget is the addition of a compliance officer, who will report the county manager and oversee compliance with state and federal regulation related to the more than $11 million in grants the county receives so that revenue isn't inadvertently jeopardized. 

"(The position) has been strongly recommended by our outside/consulting corporate compliance attorney and our independent auditors," Gsell said.

As for proceeds from the sale of the nursing home, DeJaneiro wanted to know if the state could mandate what the county does with the money. Gsell said that is one thing the state leaves entirely up to local discretion.

There are still accounts to settle related to the nursing home, so the final total of the proceeds (profits) from the $15 million sale is not yet available, but whatever the amount, it will likely be placed in the capital improvement fund.

DeJaneiro suggested it go to help pay for repairs to roads and bridges and Gsell said that is one possibility, but the county is looking at the state soon requiring the county to build a new jail with a potential price tag of $43 million.

As expenses continue to go up every year in a county budget that for years has held the line on tax increases and cut personnel and services year-after-year, one concern for legislators about the tax cap is if they don't raise the property tax by six cents, then the amount they can raise taxes in future years if dire circumstances require it is diminished.

To get around this Legislator Bob Bausch asked if the county could raise the rate by six cents and then on the tax bill immediately turn around and rebate property owners the six cents per thousand, thereby increasing the total amount of the levy without actually taking more from taxpayers.

"I think it’s sort of a gimmick," DeJaneiro said.

Bausch replied, "Of course it’s a gimmick. The whole thing is a gimmick," meaning the state's arbitrary tax cap.

"Fight gimmicks with gimmicks," Legislator Andrew Young observed.

No vote was taken on the budget. There will be another budget discussion next Wednesday.

Police have been dispatched Vine Street, Batavia, for a chicken crossing the road.

No word on why the chicken is crossing the road.

UPDATE 6:40 p.m.: Responding officer: "Do we know why it's crossing?" Dispatcher: "I guess to get to the other side." The location is 116 Vine St.

While law enforcement searched for somebody identified as a possible warrant suspect this afternoon in the area north of the Thruway near Route 98 in Batavia, this dog was hanging out in a farm field in the search area. 

There's no indication the dog was associated with the subject of the search. It was just laying there, a couple hundred yards from Route 98, watching, until it wandered off in an unknown direction.

More than 7,000 police officers, including ones from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, Batavia PD, and Le Roy PD, lined the streets off Buffalo on Wednesday, saluting fallen comrade Craig E. Lehner, a Buffalo K-9 handler and member of underwater recovery team in Erie County who died two weeks ago during a training exercise.

“The most striking thing was to see his mother step out of the car, look left and right and up and down, all she could see were police officers on the streets, lined up, saluting her son,” said Chris Erion, Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy. “She just stopped, and her mouth opened.”

Lehner, 34, went missing on Oct. 13 in the Niagara River during a training exercise, after he failed to resurface. More than a dozen agencies joined forces, including the Coast Guard and Canadian Port Authorities, to find Lehner. His body was recovered five days later near Strawberry Island, about two miles from where he disappeared.

Erion said the experience was something he could not articulate.

“You can’t replicate it and you can’t put words to it,” Erion said. “You really can’t adequately describe it, when you’re a part of it.”

Erion met Lehner through a K-9 training group with the Niagara Regional Police Service in Ontario, Canada. They met a year ago and got to know each other during regular training sessions, twice a month. A couple weeks before the accident, Erion trained with Lehner and a couple other handlers for a week straight with the dogs.

“You have a group of people you train with regularly and get to know each other’s dogs and each other’s personalities,” Erion said. “He was a good guy. He was a good human being."

Lehner had the nickname of “the surfer” because of his laid-back attitude. Until it was time to work, then he hustled, Erion said.

“He was a very laid-back guy who treated everybody right,” Erion said. “But when it was time to get serious, he got serious.”

Erion said the funeral had a different tone because everyone was worn out and worried for so long.

“It was a little bit different because it wasn’t a single, quick incident that took him,” Erion said. “It was a long process, over five days they were looking for him.”

More than 8,000 people, officers, and members of the community attended the funeral at the KeyBank Center, sending Lehner on his way and supporting his family.

“I’d like to say I was surprised, but knowing Craig’s personality, I’m not,” Erion said. “He attracted people from all different walks of life. He let everybody in. He didn’t care what you were made of, he was a friend to a lot of people.”

Photo: Le Roy police officers after returning from the funeral detail. Photo submitted by Greg Kellogg.

(Police mug shot of Joshua Gurto.)

State trooopers and Sheriff's deputies, and a canine unit from each agency, are scouring the area around exit 48 on the Thruway for a man a caller described as looking somewhat like the suspect wanted in Ohio for raping and murdering a 13-month-old girl on Oct. 7.

They have been on scene around the Batavia exit for about an hour.

The man is said to be bearded and wearing a hoodie and he's on foot, having been spotted north of the exit 48 overpass, then crossing where there's a strip of concrete median and heading west.

It's unknown if he is actually the suspect, who is Joshua Gurto, a 37-year-old from Conneaut, Ohio.

UPDATE 2:48 p.m.: BOCES was put on lockdown during the manhunt, but that has now been lifted. The search is expected to terminate soon.

UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: Gurto is described as a 5-foot-10, 145-pound male with a deformed right ear, misaligned jaw and tattoos on his right forearm. The person spotted earlier this afternoon in Batavia so far has not been located.

UPDATE 3:03 p.m.: Law enforcement is preparing to leave. The pedestrian was not found.

Press release:

Today Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) released the following statement after voting in support of the Senate-passed budget that paves the way for tax reform:

“Passing the budget was essential to getting tax reform completed without the threat of a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. We have set the stage to pass a tax reform bill that will drop corporate tax rates, put the United States on an equal playing field with the rest of the world, and lower the tax burden on small businesses. My colleagues and I are committed to sending President Trump a tax reform package in the coming weeks that will lead to explosive economic growth, create jobs and put money back in the pockets of working families.”

The budget passed 216-212. Here's more from the Washington Post.

A Mercy medic is requested to the scene of a semi-truck vs. car accident on Route 77 in front of the Flying-J to evaluate possible injuries to a 4-year-old child and an 8-month-old baby.

No serious injuries are reported.

Besides Mercy EMS, both Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments dispatched.

Press release:

After consultation with the Mayor and Highway Superintendent, the Chief of Police is delaying enforcement of the overnight parking ban until Wednesday, Nov. 15th.

The overnight parking ban was originally scheduled for Nov. 1st.

The Village reserves the right to implement the parking ban sooner should the weather conditions change.

Jimpce Jay Etienne, 41, of Warren Street, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Etienne allegedly repeatedly punched another person in the face during an incident reported at 12:30 a.m. Sunday at a location on Warren Street. He was jailed on $950 bail.

Giancarlo A. Miranda, 19, of Clipknock Road, Stafford, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd. Miranda was allegedly found in possession of a switchblade knife while at County Building #1 at 4:07 p.m. on Tuesday.

Michelle L. Misiak, 52, of Fisher Park, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Misiak is accused of stealing an alcoholic beverage from Southside Deli at 11:46 a.m. Saturday.

Carlton Lynn Beardsley, 22, of Walnut Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant. Beardsley was wanted on a warrant out of Batavia City Court.

William A. Andrews III, 38, of State Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant. Andrews allegedly failed to comply with court-ordered programs. He was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Officials are including Genesee County in the search area for Starrlita Smith, a missing 21-year-old vulnerable adult from Leicester in Livingston County.

She's been missing since Monday night when she wandered away from her parent's home.

Authorities said Starrlita has the mental capacity of a 6- to 12-year-old child.

She is described as white, five-foot-five, 120 pounds with short brown hair and brown eyes.

The search area now includes the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Cortland, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates.

If you have any information you are asked to contact the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office at (585) 243-7100.

City fire responded this evening to a semi-truck fire at 317 Ellicott St., Batavia.

The fire was quickly extinguished.

Photos by Frank Capuano.

The biggest Christmas lights display in Genesee County is going dark for 2017.

Jim and Connie DiSalvo, who live at 9180 Fargo Road in Stafford, are simply taking a break.

"We're going on hiatus, this would have been our 20th year," Jim DiSalvo said. "We usually start preparing in late September and early October. We're planning on having them back next year -- bigger and better."

That's quite a statement considering that over the years they have ramped up the spectacle to include more than one million light bulbs, more than 300 characters, and an underground network of electrical cables crisscrossing the property that, if stretched out end to end, would span two miles. 

Not long after making their decision, wouldn't you know it, the national limelight beckoned.

Producers for the seasonal ABC network TV show "The Great Christmas Light Fight" contacted the DiSalvos months ago about being featured on the popular reality series of Christmas lighting one-upmanship. In it, select families across America are followed as they turn their properties into illuminated beacons of all things Christmas. The winner gets a lot of money.

Nonetheless, the DiSalvos stuck to their plans.

Maybe they'll get another shot at the show another time, maybe not.

But fleeting fame, fierce competition, and certainly not the lure of prize money, have ever been the point.

People, particularly littles ones, are why they've kept it going all these years.

"Last year was the biggest ever, some nights more than a thousand came here," Jim DiSalvo said. 

Families meandered for an hour or two around all the displays, walked along the lit paths, across the bridges spanning the streams, and down the illuminated hillsides.

And Kids' Night is held on the second Tuesday in December. The couple's son, Sam DiSalvo, serves on a Boy Scout committee that organizes hundreds of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cubs and Brownies to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus there, in person. Every child receives a toy.

"It's a lot of fun," Jim said in a 2008 wintertime interview with The Batavian. "There is nothing I enjoy more than walking outside on a night like this and seeing the cars and the people. It was all for the kids."

It's also a lot of work.

All of the planning, implementation, maintenance, storage, organization takes great time and effort.

As they begin to gear up for the year's light show early each fall, they unpack all the precisely stored strings of lights, which are tested before being put away at the end of each season. 

By Oct. 24, the lights are all out and retested. Electrical outlets are staked by boulders and nearly every tree.

"This would have been an easy year, we have a great fall," Jim noted.

Between four and six men are put to work setting things up.

The crew gets busy decorating a half-mile of acreage from the top of one hill along the little valley to the opposite hilltop, which is named "like English houses are named" -- in this case "Swallowvale" after the swarms of insect-eating swallows that descend on the DiSalvos' 160 acres of land a couple of months each spring like clockwork.

Batavia High Schoold kicked off its monthly "Lunch with a Pro" series today, with the first career-minded guests coming from the Batavia PD.

Lunch with a Pro, organized by Anita Strollo, is a chance for high school students to learn firsthand from people in the community about different career opportunities.

Today, students who took time out during their lunch period, enjoyed pizza while touring the department's emergency response vehicle and talking with officers about what it takes to become a police officer and what it's like once you make it.