Voters in Batavia today rejected a proposal to upgrade Van Detta Stadium and the athletic fields at John Kennedy School by a vote of 542 to 982.

With more than 1,500 voters, the turn out dwarfed what Business Administrator Scott Rozanski said is typical for a school district budget vote or board election. He said typically, turn out is about 600 people.

The proposal would have cost taxpayers about $110,000 more per year. It would have upgraded the stands at Van Detta as well as the locker rooms and showers, but most notably it would have converted the field to artificial turf.

The entire project was expected to cost $3.9 million.

A utility or electricity pole is on fire in the area of 8862 Route 98, near Rose Road, Batavia.

A deputy on scene says the fire is touching a high tension line that seems to be burning.

The pole looks like a newly installed pole, as recently as today.

Town of Batavia Fire is responding with Engine 24.

UPDATE 7:27 p.m.: The fire has burned itself out. National Grid has been notified, no ETA given, but it should easily be able to spot the charred pole, according to responders.

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The city's revenue from Falleti Ice Arena is expected to double under terms of a new lease negotiated with Firland Management.

Lease payments will jump from $7,000 a year to $15,000 a year and by the fourth year of the lease, reaching $20,000 per year.

Proceeds from the lease, Batavia City Manager Jason Molino said, are held in reserve.

“Those funds are to be put into a capital improvement fund for capital improvements that may need to be done to the facility that the city is responsible for at a later point in time," Molino said.

The city council is expected to approve the lease at its next business meeting.

(via WBTA)

Attorney Jerry Ader told a jury this afternoon that the case against his client rested on whether they believed the woman who claimed the defendant attacked her at knife point in her State Street apartment on Aug. 30.

After less than an hour of deliberation, the jury found Robert Thigpen III, 35, of 287 Flower City Park, Rochester, not guilty on all charges.

Thigpen was arrested in Batavia on Aug. 30 and charged with burglary, 2nd, menacing, 2nd, criminal mischief, 4th, and harassment, 2nd. 

"There are only certain things can all agree on," Ader said as he began his closing argument. "We can agree Thigpen is black and Morgan is white, and that’s the only thing we can agree on in this case. There is nothing (else) about this case that is black and white."

Ader said if the jury didn't believe Christy Morgan's version of events, there was no physical evidence supporting the case against Thigpen. There were no fingerprints on the knife allegedly used by Thigpen, which was put back in a knife rack in the kitchen, and no evidence Morgan was harmed. He also said that there was no evidence a car parked two blocks from the alleged crime scene belonged to Thigpen.

Thigpen also allegedly made threatening and harassing phone calls to Morgan after his arrest. Ader said there was no evidence to support those claims either.

In his closing arguments, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said police found Thigpen not far from the scene hot and sweaty -- perhaps he had been running, Friedman suggested -- after first being seen as he approached a car parked on Alva Place.

He suggested it isn't reasonable for there to be an answering-machine recording of mobile phone conservations and said, contrary to what Ader argued, that Morgan did not claim she received text messages.

Friedman also noted there was expert testimony explaining why that particular knife Thigpen was accused of using wouldn't have fingerprints on it.

What the defense was really trying to do, Friedman argued, was put the victim and the police on trial.

"People who lie have a reason to lie," Friedman said. "Why would she be making this up? This was her boyfriend a month earlier, so why would she make it up?"

Morgan testified that she went outside the evening of Aug. 30 to take her trash out and a man was hiding by the basement door of her apartment building. He then forced his way into her apartment, pushed her around, choked her, then grabbed a knife from the kitchen and threatened her with it for about a minute. He then put the knife back in its place in the kitchen and left.

Morgan testified that Thigpen was accusing her of being involved with another man.

She said didn't call 9-1-1 herself because a few days before she had dropped her phone in some Kool-Aid, so the buttons were stuck. She used the recent call list to call two friends and asked them to call 9-1-1.

The trial took only one day -- jury selection was Monday and opening arguments began shortly after 10 a.m., Tuesday.

Batavia High School continued its dominance in mock trial competition taking both of its matches in Geneseo on Monday, scoring 107 points.

Batavia will now face Warsaw tomorrow in Warsaw in the finals.

In the first round Monday, Batavia defeated Warsaw 56-54, and then defeated Byron-Bergen 51-44.  

Warsaw beat Pembroke 51-46.

Warsaw, Pembroke and Avon were all 1-1, but Warsaw made the finals on points with 105. Avon had 103 and Pembroke 93. Byron-Bergen was 0-2 with 98 points.

Points are based on a scoring system for the actions during the trial of the individual team members and are scored by the judge. The judge is not told what teams are involved in the competition.

More than a year after his arrest, a 33-year-old Warsaw man was told today that he will spend a year in prison for grand larceny for his part in a complicated scheme to steal from employers and customers at three different Batavia businesses.

As part of his plea agreement, Dustin Hurlburt paid $14,739.92 in restitution to his victims.

Hurlburt was accused of making more than $22,000 in purchases at Armor Building Supply, where he worked, using credit card numbers he obtained while employed as a full-service gas station attendant.

The purchases were made for a local building site, where Hurlburt acted as a contractor. He then billed the customers for the items he bought using the stolen credit card numbers.

The alleged purchases were made between October 2009 and December 2009. 

In connection with that case, Nicholas Salvador, 46, of 20 Park Ave., Batavia, owner of East Main Sunoco, was charged in federal court with fraud. Those charges were quickly dismissed.

Meanwhile, a Rochester law firm, Leclair Korona Giordano Cole, LLP, announced today that their client, Robert Burt, won a civil case in which he was being sued by victims of a "Ponzi scheme" centered in Perry and reportedly run by Hurlburt.

In connection to that case, Hurlburt entered a guilty to federal mail fraud charges charges in 2005. The scheme operated from 2001 through 2003.

One of these days, Oakfield's 96-year-old water tower could just simply burst open. 

Everybody agrees, it needs to be replaced, and soon.

Village officials have been working toward that goal, but recent events have created a quagmire that had about 40 residents packing the village hall Monday night to sound off about how the situation is being handled.

At its March 14 meeting, the village board approved a purchase offer on a 10-acre parcel off Coe Avenue as a location for a new water tower.

That purchase has sparked accusations of secret meetings, overpayment for the property, poor legal advice and concern that the village board is heading in a direction that will cost village rate payers and taxpayers a lot more money in years to come.

"This would not have happened on my watch," said former Oakfield mayor and current county Legislator Ray Cianfrini, looking directly at Oakfield Mayor Rick Pastecki. "You did not do your due diligence. You owe it to the community to do your due diligence when you take on a project of this magnitude."

Pastecki opened the meeting with a written statement explaining the events of the past five weeks.

Problems started, he said, when the village learned that the Town of Oakfield said it would not take title to a piece of property next to Oakfield-Alabama Central School, owned by Lamb Farms, for a new water tower.

The village would have to take title. And if it did, village attorney David DiMatteo informed the board, the Town of Oakfield could levy taxes against the property, and so could the county and the school district. 

Those taxes, on a water tower worth more than $1 million, could exceed $37,000 annually.

Near the end of the meeting, Pastecki pointed to the City of Batavia's Country Mall as an example of bad decisions that leave people in the future shaking their heads, wondering, "What were they thinking?"

"What we have done, we have done in good faith, trying to avoid any tax liability that we have no control over," Pastecki said. "We didn't want to add that burden in addition to the burden of water rates going up."

Several times, Pastecki emphasized that he's really concerned about what the school district might do in regard to taxes, because schools are increasingly desperate for revenue.

With the fear of high taxes -- and the prospect of losing a $600,000 state grant if a tower location was not quickly identified -- the board voted, following a closed session, to purchase the Coe Avenue property for $139,000.

The real estate deal has set people off. It feeds a perception in the community that the purchase was made in secret. Also, some residents question the parcel's suitability for erecting a new water tower: because of potential environmental problems there; the specter of it being an eyesore; and its distance from any foreseeable growth in Oakfield's population.

Several residents, including real estate investor Jeremy Yasses, said the village overpaid for the property.

The assessed value is $79,000 and some village residents spoke about a local nonprofit group that once had a purchase offer in place for the property for less than that amount, but the deal fell through.

"We know what that purchase price was," Yasses said, "and it wasn't $139,000."

He estimated the village overpaid by about $100,000 and questioned whether the village would ever be able to get its money back if the tower isn't built there.

The village attorney was not at the meeting. According to Pastecki, DiMatteo made only one offer for the property, $139,000, and it was accepted.

The purchase agreement includes no contingencies that would allow the village to get out of the purchase if the tower cannot be built at that location.

Pastecki said nobody considered it necessary to include contingencies.

"That's where we're going to put the water tower," Pastecki said.

The land, however, has an old residence on it that may contain asbestos. The site is landlocked and there are questions about accessibility. There used to be a greenhouse on it, whose proprietors may have left behind a buried fuel tank.

And while Pastecki said U.S. Gypsum's old underground mine shafts don't extend that far west, Cianfrini said he isn't so sure (after U.S. Gypsum shut down in Oakfield, the village acquired mine maps, Cianfrini said after the meeting, but it isn't clear if the maps are 100-percent accurate).

"I think you bought a pig in a poke," Cianfrini said. "You really don't know what you've got here."

Yasses and others said the the village board got bad advice from its attorney on the purchase.

"He should either resign or be fired," Yasses said.

At a previous meeting, Town of Batavia Engineer Steve Mountain spoke to the board about the possibility of extending a 12-inch public water line up Route 63 into the village.

Such a line would meet the current water needs of the village and handle growth for up to 1,000 more people.

Even so, Mountain said, apparently, the village would still need to build a water tower at some point.

Pastecki said that statement is what convinced the board to move forward with purchase of the Coe Avenue property. And with the cost of steel going up, it didn't make sense to wait to build a water tower.

But board members also admitted that they weren't really clear on what Mountain meant by the statement that a 12-inch line would meet current village needs, be less expensive and handle modest population growth.

There has long been discussion about the Town of Alabama buying water from the village, but Alabama has backed away from helping to pay for a water tower.

A Coe Avenue site wouldn't have enough capacity to meet the needs of both communities, nor would a 12-inch public water line extension.

So if neither is wholly suitable, why not just go with the less expensive water line? This question was first raised by Town of Oakfield Board Member Mike Cianfrini. But it wasn't really dealt with until near the end of the meeting when it was revisited by Kevin Skelton.

"We need to take care of the immediate problem," Skelton said. "If we think there will be considerable growth around here, then we should think about a plan for the future. For now, we should find the quickest way to solve the problem."

Pastecki said the board will consider everything people at the meeting had to say about the issue and review its options again.

A Rochester man, who was reportedly found in Batavia with 22 bags of crack cocaine when he was arrested in August, admitted to possessing a controlled substance in Genesee County Court this morning.

Willie J. Woods Jr., 36, entered a guilty plea of criminal possession and possession of a controlled substance, 5th. He faces up to two and a half years in state prison when he is sentenced June 20.

Woods was stopped in August by members of the Local Drug Task Force and uniformed deputies before pulling onto the Thruway. 

His arrest was the culmination of an investigation to the sale and distribution of cocaine in Batavia.

Woods was allegedly found with $2,000 cash on him at the time of his arrest.

One of Batavia's most historic landmarks, the Pontillo's sign on the pizzeria at the corner of East Main Street and Harvester Avenue, was removed this morning and replaced by a "Batavia's Original Pizzeria" sign.

Three investors from Rochester bought the former Pontillo's location and opened it as Pontillo's in early 2010, but they were served with a trademark infringement suit in September.

In early December, the name of the business was changed to Batavia's Original Pizzeria.

The new sign says Batavia's Original was established in 1947.

The original Pontillo's closed in the fall of 2008 and the property was eventually sold at a foreclosure auction. The Rochester investors purchased the property from the bank that bought it at auction. (Financial history covered in this story.)

Sam Pontillo, son of Salvatore and Elizabeth Pontillo, is manager of Batavia's Original.

The Le Roy Pontillo's location was closed a couple of months ago and Sam Pontillo reportedly removed all of the equipment. His brother, John Pontillo, may be planning to open another pizzeria at that location. John currently operates a pizzeria in Geneseo.

A tractor-trailer rollover accident is reported in the eastbound lane -- on-ramp 47 -- of the Thruway. The driver is conscious and talking but is possibly entrapped. Mercy Flight is on standby.

Le Roy Fire and Ambulance are responding and a crew from Bergen Fire Department is requested to standby in their quarters.

The rig is leaking fuel. It is on its side and the on-ramp is blocked.

UPDATE 12:51 p.m.: Medics are told to proceed in nonemergency mode. The rig is loaded with scrap metal.

UPDATE 12:55 p.m.: Mercy Flight is cancelled. Traffic is backing up. The driver has been extricated.

UPDATE 1:08 p.m.: State Police have completely shut down the eastbound on-ramp and it is expected to remain closed for some time. The Bergen crew, which was standing by in quarters, is put back in service. Le Roy medic is taking the victim to Strong Memorial Hospital. Le Roy fire is released from the scene by State Police.

A 35-year-old Byron resident is facing 101 charges related to possessing and receiving prescription drugs in four Genesee County jurisdictions.

Sege D. Kalmbacher Sr., was taken into custody by the Local Drug Task Force and arraigned in City of Batavia, Town of Batavia, Le Roy and Pembroke. He was jailed on $50,000 bail.

Kalmbacher was identified as a suspect during an investigation into the theft and use of prescription drug forms. The case began when Le Roy Police received a complaint from a pharmacy in the village of somebody using a forged prescription.

A computer was reportedly used to create the prescriptions.

Task force investigators allege that Kalmbacher was able to successfully fill several prescriptions for narcotics at area pharmacies using the forged forms going back to December.

Kalmbacher was charged as follows:

City of Batavia: Eight counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, for receiving narcotics on nine different occasions; eight counts of possession of a forged instrument, 2nd; eight counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 5th; eight counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument; and criminal possession of stolen property for allegedly submitting nine stolen and forged prescription forms.

Town of Batavia: Nine counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, for allegedly receiving narcotic drugs on nine different occasions in the Town of Batavia; nine counts of possession of a forged instrument, 2nd; nine counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 5th; and nine counts criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of stolen property for allegedly submitting nine stolen and forged prescription forms.

Village of Le Roy: Three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, for allegedly receiving narcotic drugs on four different occasions in the Village of Le Roy; four counts of possession of a forged instrument, 2nd; four counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 5th; and four counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of stolen property for allegedly submitting nine stolen and forged prescription forms.

Town of Pembroke: Four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, for allegedly receiving narcotic drugs on four different occasions occasions occasions in the Town of Pembroke; four counts of possession of a forged instrument, 2nd; four counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 5th; and four counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of stolen property for allegedly submitting nine stolen and forged prescription forms.

In Pembroke, Kalmbacher was also charged with 27 counts of computer trespass for using a computer he did not have permission to use to create prescription drug forms.

David Lee Brown, 19, no permenant address, is charged with uninspected motor vehicle, unregistered motor vehicle, uninsured motor vehicle, improper license plates and unlawful possession of marijuana, plus he was arrested on a felony warrant. Brown was stopped during a Buckle Up New York traffic detail. During the investigation, he was identied as wanted on a warrant out of Monroe County for alleged violation of probation. During a search of his vehicle, Sgt. Tom Sanfratello and Deputy Chris Parker reportedly found a glass pipe with marijuana in it.

Gregory John Campbell, 43, of Alexander, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Campbell was allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. Campbell was jailed on $500 bail.

Joshua M. Gaudiso, 22, of Fillmore Avenue, Caledonia, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and arrested on a warrant. Gaudiso was released after paying an outstanding fine.

Zoe Ann McClure, 41, of South Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. McClure is accused of shoplifting from Kmart at 5:51 p.m., Monday.

Batavia residents are being asked today to vote on a $3.9 million capital improvement project that would upgrade Van Detta Statdium (including artificial turf) as well as athletic fields at John Kennedy School.

To help pay for the project, the district expects it will need to collect about $110,000 annually in additional taxes from district residents.

When & Where to Vote 
Date: Tuesday, March 29
Time: Noon to 9 p.m.
Place: Polling places are at Jackson, Batavia Middle School, and Robert Morris.
Note: Identification and proof of residency are required.
Voting Requirements: In order to vote, you must be a citizen of the United States, a registered voter, at least 18 years of age, and a legal resident of the Batavia City School District for at least 30 days prior to the vote.

Below, a video produced by the school district in support of the project.

Previously: City School District presents plan for $3.9 million upgrade to Van Detta

Capt. Pat O'Donnell is on his final shift with the Batavia Fire Department tonight.

He joined the department Sept. 5, 1979 and decided it's time to stow his boots permanently.

"The body is not like it used to be," O'Donnell said. "It takes a few days to recuperate after being here for four."

Divorced with two daughters in college, O'Donnell has no sure plans for his retirement. He is staying in Batavia (His family was in Elba when he was born and moved to Batavia when he was in third grade.) and looking forward to a summer of taking it easy, playing golf and taking a couple of trips with his girls.

Asked if he had a message for the community, O'Donnell said, "The community should feel blessed that they’ve got this place. The guys do a hell of a job with the equipment that they’ve got. I know over the course of the last two or three years we’ve gotten a lot of bad publicity but the people in the city don’t realize what they have in this place. They do a good job."

UPDATE: The woman's last name has now been provided.

This is a news release from Batavia Downs Casino.

Marilyn Brightman from Rochester doesn’t drive -- but she may learn now that she’s the owner of a 2011 Cadillac CTS.

She and her husband were among the thousands of Player’s Club members who crowded into Batavia Downs Casino Saturday night for the chance to win the shiny new Caddy or $25,000 in cash.

“I was thrilled when I learned I won,” Brightman said.

She and her husband are still deciding on whether to take the car or the cash.

The big drawing at 10 p.m. topped off the Genesee County casino’s second-busiest day for coin-in since opening in May 2005.

Ken Barrett Chevrolet-Cadillac of Batavia partnered with Batavia Downs Casino on the grand prize.

Batavia Downs Casino is licensed by the New York State Lottery to conduct casino operations, including slots. Batavia Downs Casino is owned and operated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting, a public benefit corporation.

After much talk about the need to locate a new veterans' cemetery close to Batavia, only two potential sites announced today by Sen. Charles Schumer are in Genesee County.

Three sites are in Alden and one is in Akron.

The two potential sites in Genesee County are in Le Roy and East Bethany.

Schumer was in Batavia on March 7 to announce his plans to fast track the construction of a cemetery, ideally close to Batavia since it's centrally located between Rochester and Buffalo.

Currently, the closest veterans' cemetery to either city is in Bath.

Officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs are expected to visit the six potential sites this week.

The exact locations were not released.

The sites were identified after the VA solicited proposals from area landowners willing to sell at least 200 acres of land to the government

“I have long fought for this veterans' cemetery in Western New York to become a reality, and today’s news that the VA will be visiting six potential cemetery sites in Western New York is an important step towards finally finding a suitable resting place for Western New York vets,” Schumer said in a statement.

Full press release after the jump:

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to visit six potential veterans cemetery sites this week in Western New York: three sites in Alden, one site in Akron, one site in Leroy, and one site in East Bethany.  The six sites were generated from the VA’s Expression of Interest solicitation which was issued earlier this year.  Earlier this month, Schumer wrote a letter to Secretary Shinseki of the VA, urging that the VA establish a firm timeline for completion of the long overdue veterans’ cemetery in Western New York, specifically in choosing the cemetery site. The VA has yet to acquire the necessary land for the cemetery, further delaying the design and building phase that will ultimately lead to a suitable resting place for Western New York veterans. Today’s announcement marks a step in the right direction towards bringing a long overdue cemetery to over 200,000 veterans in Western New York.

“I have long fought for this veterans cemetery in Western New York to become a reality, and today’s news that the VA will be visiting six potential cemetery sites in Western New York is an important step towards finally finding a suitable resting place for Western New York vets,” Schumer said. “After everything the many thousands of veterans in this region have done for us, it is imperative that they have a local resting place where they can receive the honor they deserve.”
VA National Cemetery officials announced that they will be in Buffalo on Wednesday, March 30th,  to conduct site visits at 6 potential cemetery sites within the VA’s target area in WNY. This target area is the area 7 miles to the North and south of the Thruway, and about 20 miles to the East and West of the Town of Pembroke in Genesee County. The six locations being assessed are three sites in Alden, one site in Akron, one site in Leroy, and one site in East Bethany.  These six potential sites were generated from the VA’s Expression of Interest solicitation which was issued in January 2011.

In a March 7th letter to Secretary Shinseki of the VA, Schumer wrote, “There are some 200,000 veterans in the Buffalo-Rochester region who are not served by a national cemetery.  They have waited too long for this important project and they have been disturbed by a lack of information and communications with the VA.  I urge you to ensure timely progress in selecting and developing a site, and I request that a firm schedule for the project be established and shared with the community.” In today’s announcement, the VA outlined the firm schedule that Schumer had strongly lobbied for. During the VA’s visits to each location,  the officials will assess which sites best fit the VA’s criteria, which includes factors such as the site’s topography, access to highways, proximity to wetlands, and the impact of neighboring facilities. After this assessment is complete, the VA will rank and score each site as part of its evaluation process.  The VA will then narrow the field of candidate sites to the top two and will  proceed with a more detailed due diligence analysis.  The VA anticipates that this review will continue for most of this year.  If it proceeds accordingly, the VA would then be on track to acquire the 200-acres of property by the end of this year or the Spring of 2012.  The VA will then hire an architectural/engineering firm to help develop the master plan for the site, clearing the way for construction.

There are currently six National Cemeteries in New York State, but the facility in Bath is the only one in all of Central New York, Western New York, the Southern Tier and the Rochester Finger Lakes Region.  Current VA regulations allow for establishment of a new cemetery when it would serve 80,000 or more veterans within a 75 mile area. In Western New York alone there are approximately 125,000 veterans. Combined with the Rochester area, which is also more than 75 miles away from the nearest national cemetery in Bath, there are more than 200,000 veterans without appropriate access to a cemetery. A cemetery location in Western New York not only makes sense, but would fulfill an urgent need of these veterans.

Veterans Affairs began seeking a cemetery site in August 2010, with the effort focused within a 50 mile diameter area which included parts of Ontario, Canada, Lake Erie, Erie County, Orleans County, Niagara County and Genesee county. In January 2011, the VA announced that they were starting over and had moved the area under consideration to the east and would center it in Genesee County. Today’s announcement means that these milestones in the process will not continued to be pushed back.

Schumer has long argued that it is critical for the veterans cemetery location to be decided on and for building to begin immediately.  Half of New York Veterans are 65 years of age or older, and now is the time to start planning for the future of those veterans, and ensuring that they are treated with the honor they deserve.  Schumer has heard from local veterans groups that veterans in Western New York desperately want to be buried in a national shrine, but don’t want to force their families to travel long distances to visit, potentially at great hardship to do so.

Today, there are more than 22 million veterans who are eligible for the honor of burial in a National Cemetery. Veterans with discharges other than dishonorable, their spouses and dependent children may be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. Those who die on active duty may also be buried in a national cemetery.

A driver involved in a fatal car accident on West Main St. Road, Batavia, on Feb.  8 has received two traffic citations and been charged with reckless driving.

Levert Kimble, 21, of 3456 West Main St. Road, Batavia, who was also seriously injured in the head-on collection with an SUV, was cited for failure to keep right and not wearing a seat belt.

Delores Opuku-Boateng, 19, a student at Genesee Community College and a passenger in Kimble's car, died at the scene of the accident.

The other driver, Justin J. Jaszko, 31, suffered only minor injuries.

According to investigators at the time, the accident occurred at 9:02 a.m. when Kimble apparently lost control of his eastbound Honda and crossed over the center of the road, striking Jaszko's westbound 1995 Chevy Suburban.

Jane Corwin was apparently for it before she was against it -- high-speed rail, that is.

The Buffalo News reported this morning that a pair of freshly minted Republican congressmen have come down hard on the idea of spending billions of dollars on a high-speed rail system connecting Buffalo and Albany (and passing through Genesee County).

Corwin, the GOP candidate to fill Chris Lee's vacated seat, said this:

"While I am in overall support of the concept of modernizing our passenger railways, with $1.5 trillion deficits we simply cannot afford to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on this project at this time," the assemblywoman from Clarence said. "Instead, I will fight for infrastructure projects that have an immediate and direct return on our economic bottom line."

Honestly, when I first read the Buffalo News story, I didn't read far enough down to see that both Corwin and her Democratic opponent Kathy Hochul had been asked by the Buffalo News for comment, so I e-mailed both campaigns seeking comment.

After I read the statement, I also did a little Google search and found the statement below on Corwin's official Assembly Web site:

A high-speed rail would make travel between upstate and downstate far more energy efficient and be a huge boom to economic development. Construction of the rail would create an estimated 12,000 jobs. By strengthening the connection between our smaller metropolitan areas and New York City, we could also reverse the upstate decline in population by making Western New York universities and colleges more attractive to downstate and out of state residents.

As part of the statement, Corwin did note that there was no guarantee New York would be granted federal funds for a high-speed rail project, and she asked constituents for their opinion and called the project, "worthy of further discussion and debate."

The headline on Corwin's two-year-old statement was, "High-Speed Rail Could Provide Economic Boom to Upstate NY."

After finding that statement, I sent a second e-mail to Corwin's campaign asking about this seeming contradiction and received this response from Communications Director Matthew Harakal:

As the statement we issued on Friday states, Jane is supportive of the concept of modernizing passenger rail, and that support was indicated in the newsletter from two years ago. But because Congress has failed to get spending, the debt and deficits under control, funding this is not practical at this time. Jane believes that we need to focus on getting our nation’s fiscal house in order before we invest in long-term spending such as this.

According to treasurydirect.gov, the national debt today is $14 trillion. In March 2009, it was $11 trillion.

Meanwhile, here's the statement we received from Hochul's campaign:

"A high speed rail in Upstate New York will reduce our dependence on oil, create thousands of much needed jobs right here in Western New York, and provide New Yorkers with a safe, efficient, and fast mode of transportation to travel the Empire Corridor,” said Kathy Hochul, candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District. “While I support the idea conceptually, we are still analyzing what the fiscal impact will be on New York taxpayers."

Genesee County lost 291 residents according to 2010 Census data released in the past week, but the losses were not evenly distributed throughout the county.

Over the last decade, some areas gained residents, such as the Town of Batavia, most notably, and the Village of Le Roy.

The City of Batavia was the big loser, shedding 791 residents, with the southeast section of the city getting hammered with a 15.7-percent drop in population.

The Town of Batavia gained 894 residents, with 6,809 people in its jurisdiction, up from 5,915 in 2000.

The Village of Le Roy grew from 4,716 to 4,739 residents. The Town of Le Roy dropped 2.2 percent, to 5,361.

The Basom area, which includes the Tonawanda Indian Reservation now has 483 residents, a 9.9-percent drop from 2000.

Other counts: Alabama, 6,161 -- down 3.8 percent; Oakfield and Elba, 5,620 --  down .4 percent; Byron-Bergen, 5,489 -- down 3.3 percent; Pavilion and Bethany, 4,260 -- up .8 percent; Alexander and Darien, 5,692 -- up 3.2 percent.

The county's African-American population has increased from 1,284 in 2000 to 1,612, now comprising 2.7 percent of the county's population.

The Hispanic population here has increased from 904 in 2000 to 1,616. It's now 2.7 percent of the population.

The numbers of Asian-Americans grew from 292 to 355.

Total housing units have expanded over the past 10 years from 24,190 to 25,589. Occupied housing units stands at 23,728 compared to 22,770. There are a little more than 400 additional vacant housing units than 10 years ago.