byron

Volunteer firefighters in Byron and South Byron say they need more money to support their operations.

The Town of Byron board hasn't given either department a budget increase in three years.

Apparently, the two sides have been growing increasingly frustrated with each other.

Attorney Brad Pinsky, from Syracuse, who started representing the departments about a year ago, thinks there may be a way to resolve the disagreement.

Pinsky spoke to the town board at its meeting Wednesday night and walked away with an agreement for the board to appoint two members to study the issue. In addition, the fire departments promised to present a plan and spending priorities so the board better understands how its money is being allocated.

"I promise you, we'll come to you with our needs and not our wants," Pinsky said.

Each department receives about $68,000 annually from the town, yet each year the departments have an excess of $100,000 in operational expenses.

This budget deficit has forced the departments to turn increasingly to their own fundraising, which the firefighters say isn't how they should be spending their time.

"You've got to be concerned if your firefighters are out fundraising and not training and not fighting fires," Pinsky said.

Fundraising should be for extras, for wants, such as items for the fire hall that make it a more inviting place for recruits to hang out, said Chris Hilbert, president of the Byron Fire Department.

"Fundraising shouldn't be needed to put gas in a fire truck," he said.

Dave Garwood, another attorney with the same firm as Pinsky (all the firm does is represent fire departments), said firefighting is an essential local government service, but it's the only one in some communities that is expected to raise its own funds.

"When was the last time you saw a DPW worker on the side of the road with some chicken barbecue so they could afford to put gas in a DPW truck?" Garwood asked.

Town Supervisor Tom Felton said it's important for the board to better understand the needs of the firefighters, but he doesn't see how the town can take on another $60,000 in expenses without raising taxes.

"We share these very same concerns," Felton said, "but there are only 2,400 people in the town."

Funds for the fire departments are raised through a special tax levy and don't come out of the general fund.

One suggestion thrown out by Pinsky was for the town board to create a fire district, which the board can do on its own authority (no referendum vote is required).

The district would be run by a board of elected commissioners and would have the power to increase the fire tax if needed, and it would also oversee the budget for the two fire units (which would be consolidated into a single department, but remain separate fire companies).

Felton likes the idea of the fire district. It would put authority for fire services under the supervision of a commission that would likely understand fire operations.

"We're challenged to understand the needs of the fire department," Fenton said. "None of us are firefighters."

In order for the fire district idea to move forward, the fire departments will need to agree that is the best way to proceed and then present a plan to the town board.

A driver suffered a facial injury and was apparently in shock following a one-car accident on Warboys Road in Byron Monday at 6:32 p.m.

The accident was apparently caused by mechanical failure.

The driver, operating a 1995 Chevy truck, reported hearing a clunk and then his tires locked up. The car then traveled off the road striking a utility pole, which was sheared from its base.

Joseph T. Oliveri, 18, of 7944 Sacett Road, Bergen, was transported to Lakeside Memorial Hospital.

Deputy Tim Wescott investigated the accident.

Here's the verbatim testimony of Byron dairy farmer Robin Denniston-Keller given at the Senate hearing on the dairy industry held at GCC on Thursday.

It's titled "Legislative Responses to the Dairy Crisis: Reforming the Pricing Structure."

"...I am a proud American dairy farmer. My husband and I milk 100 Jersey cows and take care of another 100 young stock on our farm 10 minutes northeast of here in Byron, New York. It’s a privilege and honor to be asked to speak today.

"I’m not an economist or an expert on milk pricing, but I do feel I have common sense and a strong work ethic, which have served me well so far in life. I milk my own cows every day, and being up to my elbows in the results of lactation and excretion (generally not at the same time!) gives me a certain sense of reality!

"On our farm, our “pay price” for our milk produced in July 2009 was $13.26 per hundredweight. Put in consumer terms, $1.14 a gallon. This includes all protein and quality premiums received from Sorrento, the cheese plant we supply with pure, fresh Jersey milk. 

"Last year our July pay price was $24.23 per hundredweight, or $2.08 a gallon. I could spend my next three minutes ranting about the volatility and injustice of this, but that’s not constructive, and you can figure out on your own how I do the math to pay for our own health insurance, groceries, feed for the cows and calves, fuel for the tractors, hauling and fuel surcharge costs to send the milk to the processor, and the numerous other bills staring me in the face each month!

"Our 100-cow dairy benefits from the MILC program. We are at the perfect size to maximize our usage of the program. Our MILC government payments are currently a little more than 10% of our monthly income.

"Solutions to milk pricing issues -- please remember, as I said before, I’m not an economist or a milk pricing expert! Time heals all wounds, however, how do we stop the bleeding now?

Increase solid-non-fat fluid milk standards.

I like to call this the “No more blue skim milk” suggestion. Since 1962, California has had higher minimum standards for nonfat solids in fluid milk than the rest of the United States. Raising the United States standards to match the California standards will accomplish the following:

• Improve the nutrition benefits of milk. For example, California 2% milk has 21% more calcium than does 2% milk in other states. In addition, higher solids result in better tasting milk.
• Utilize more milk solids in consumer products and reduce the amount of nonfat dry milk produced for CCC purchase. This June, Dairy Farmers of America estimated that if the California Standards had been in effect for the rest of the U.S. during 2008, an additional 300 million pounds of milk solids would have been included in fluid milk sales. This represents more milk solids than were in all the CCC nonfat dry milk purchases through July 2009. California retail milk prices have remained competitive with, not higher than, the rest of the U.S.

Urge Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to have USDA purchase cheese for nutrition programs.

• This single action would accomplish several goals: Help to bolster milk prices and ease the current crisis faced by many dairy producers across the country; reduce outlays in dairy safety net programs (MILC payments and CCC purchases); and by donating the purchased cheese to food banks and other charitable organizations; USDA would be providing humanitarian nutrition services.

Cheese inventories are poised to be much higher than normal heading into this fall. This supply is weighing on the market and suppressing prices. A purchase of 100 million pounds of cheese would bring inventories more in line with past levels, and would bolster farm milk prices. Even a modest rise in milk prices would provide relief for dairy producers, reduce MILC expenditures, and lower CCC purchases of cheese.

Overhaul the dairy price discovery program.

I believe that our current milk-pricing structure is based on the trading of 2% of the cheese in this country on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. This small amount of cheese determines my mailbox price. Or, in other words -- what the check I get in the mail says I will be paid for the product I’ve spent the last month getting covered in manure and other fine things to harvest!

This whole process goes against my good old common sense. Large milk processors were convicted for price manipulation as recently as 2006; clearly a more fair and broad based pricing mechanism is needed. We need a new set of tools in our milk-pricing toolbox. 

Sometimes I wonder why I am in a business where, I buy everything retail and sell my product wholesale, and the pricing mechanism is based on what I would call a “house of cards”? Way of life, being my own boss, pride of ownership, producing good food for an expanding world; they’re all good reasons. But if I’m not treated fairly, it’s time for me to wake up and find another life. I digress. Back to my suggestions.

Imports -- Charge promotion fees on imports.

United States dairymen contribute 15 cents for every hundredweight of milk we produce towards dairy promotion. I believe the new Farm Bill instructs USDA to charge importers
seven and a half cents for every hundredweight of dairy products imported. Dairy promotion basically helps create a larger market for dairy products. Importers benefit from that increased demand for dairy that our domestic producers have paid for, so it only seems fair to have importers contribute into the promotion program. 

At issue here is the fact that USDA has not implemented this fee, and it discourages me to see the lack of timeliness on legislation implemented into law. Seven and a half cents is not much, but I think charging importers this fee would decrease the amount of imported dairy products flooding our domestic market. 

I believe in fair trade, and I feel this fee charged to importers would somewhat level the playing field, and I’m encouraged that this promotion fee works for WTO reasons as well. 

Proceed with Extreme Caution before implementing Growth Management or Supply Management Programs.

While some producers and organizations are promoting growth management or supply management plans as a long-term solution to the dairy economy problems, I have some issues with these plans. Again, not an expert, and applying my common sense, I’m concerned that without solid knowledge of the impact of any such plans, I am not in favor of “jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

Mandatory supply management goes against all my gut instincts, and my belief in the efficiency and productivity of the American Dairy Farmer. Last year’s high milk prices at the farm level resulted from a booming export market for American dairy products. We live in a global economy, and putting handcuffs on the American dairy industry with mandatory supply management seems to me to set us up for failure. We only have to look “across the pond” to see Europe struggling to get away from its quota system.

Finally, a sincere thank you to Senator Gillibrand and your staff for your efforts on increasing the MILC rates and indexing these payments for inflation. I am a proud American Dairy Farmer, and taking handouts does not please me, but this truly is a time of need for my fellow dairymen and me. Thank you for your efforts and your interest in the intricacies of dairy pricing. Thank you for listening to my suggestions, and I’m looking
forward to working together to resolve the dairy pricing issues we currently are facing and those in the future."

A newly delivered load of ground up paper and saw dust used for cattle bedding at Zuber Farms was on fire when it came off the delivery truck this evening, according to John Durand, chief of the Byron Volunteer Fire Department.

The fire was reported at the station, where the department had assembled for Monday night training, about 7 o'clock.

Durand said the fire was out in about 10 minutes, but then there was an ongoing task of spreading out the sawdust, wetting it down, spreading it out more and then doing it again. Plus, they had to check it periodically with a thermal camera to ensure the fire was doused.

The process served as good training for his crew, Durand said, and the method his firefighters used helped save most of the $1,500 worth of bedding.

South Byron assisted, in a large part, Durand said, to ensure manpower relief because of the heat of the day.

"Byron and South Byron always work together," Durand said. "Because it's so hot, I wanted the ambulance here in case the heat got to anybody in full turn-out gear and air packs (which they wore) because I didn't want them to breath the paper dust into their lungs."

Audio: MP3 of Interview with Chief Durand.

Initial Reports Below:

Fire units are responding to a reported "small sawdust fire" at Zuber Farms in Byron.

UPDATE: I missed the first alarm on this fire.  It sounds like mutual aid from Wyoming County was called in.  There are tankers being refilled, so I'm not sure how "small" the fire is.

UPDATE: Mixed calls on the Wyoming dispatch. That was for training in Pavilion.  I'll have more on this fire a little later.

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Sixteen people were arrested Friday night at the Blink 182 concert at Darien Lake Theme Park.

Charles J. Cook, 18, of 5 Cherry Lane, Orchard Park, charged with trespassing for allegedly jumping a fence to enter the concert venue.

Brett A. Causyn, 18, of 6596 Warboys Road, Byron, charged with trespassing for allegedly jumping a fence to enter the concert venue.

James W. Causyn, 19, of 6596 Warboys Road, Byron, charged with trespassing for allegedly jumping a fence to enter the concert venue.

A 17-year-old from Byron charged with trespassing for allegedly jumping a fence to enter the concert venue.

A 17-year-old charged with harassment for allegedly striking a security guard on the head.

Joel P. Proulx, 20, of 2730 Upper Mountain Road, Sanborn, charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

A 17-year-old was charged with unlawful dealing with a minor and unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly providing marijuana to a 14-year-old.

Thomas Gardner, 20, of 52 Woodshire North Road, Getzville, charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Daniel Myers, 21, of 88 Candlewood Lane, Williamsville, charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

John J. Coppa, 18, of 9 Haverhill Road, Churchville, for unlawful possession of marijuana.

Nicolas Lacolla, 20, of 112 Heather Lane, Scottsville, charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Seth M. Evans, 19, of 2 Durham Circle, Fairport, charged with possession of alcohol by a person under age 21.

A 17-year-old from Fairport charged with possession of alcohol by a person under 21.

Justin M. Hamm, 21, of 90 S. S. Ellington Ave., Depew, charged with trespass for allegedly re-entering the concert venue after being kicked out. He was jailed on $200 bail.

Erin L. Falzarano, 31, of 1033 Keyes Ave., Schenectady, charged with petit larceny for allegedly stealing items from the concert venue. Falzarano was jailed on $250 bail.

John T. Plakas, 19, of 2045 Arcona Court, Niskayuana, charged with petit larceny for allegedly stealing items from the concert venue. Falzarano was jailed on $250 bail.

Neil R. Ramsey, 43, of 342 South Ave., Medina, is charged with felony DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Ramsey was stopped yesterday at 4:57 p.m. by Deputy Bradley D. Mazur on Route 237 in Byron following a citizen complaint of a possibility intoxicated driver. Upon investigation, Mazur arrested Ramsey for allegedly driving drunk. Ramsey was also issued a ticket for an uninspected vehicle. Following his arrest, Ramsey was turned over to the Monroe County Sheriff on an outstanding arrest warrant.

(UPDATED 9:41 a.m. with information on passenger)

A 49-year-old Hamlin man is charged with drunken driving following a one-car accident on North Byron Road yesterday at 2:23 p.m..

Thomas G. Lentz, of 4 Locust Drive, was reportedly driving on North Byron Road when his car went off the road and struck a tree.

His passenger, Daniel F.  Morabito, Jr., 59, of 25 Locust Drive, Hamlin, suffered a minor head wound and was transported to Strong.

He is charged with misdemeanor charges of DWI and aggravated DWI, as well as violations for allegedly driving too fast, having an open container and making an unsafe lane change.

His passenger is not identified in the report released by the Sheriff's Office.

Investigating the accident were Deputy Joseph Graff, Deputy C.W. Mower and Sgt. T.A. Sanfratello.

This is an upate to an accident we reported yesterday.

Emergency crews are enroute to a serious one-car accident at 6137 North Byron Road. A car apparently struck a tree. Two persons are trapped inside, one of whom was briefly unconscious.

Mercy Flight in on air standby.

UPDATE 1:56 p.m. (by Howard): Mercy Flight canceled. Both patients out of the vehicle alert and conscious.

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Craig L. Schrutt, 56, of 50-2 Spring Meadow Drive, Williamsville, is charged with two counts of grand larceny and two counts of issuing a bad check. Schrutt, the former operator of of CARP's Auto Sales in Clarence, is accused of writing checks that were later returned for insufficient funds to a local car dealership. The reported amount of the checks were for $11,300 and $2,500. Schrutt was sent to the Genesee County Jail on $10,000 bail. The investigation was conducted by Warrant Officer Eric Olson with assistance by Investigator Timothy Weis, and deputies James Diehl and Tim Wescott.

Jean Rebecca Fili, 31, of 8089 E. Main Road, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny and possession of a controlled substance. Fili allegedly stole merchandise from Wal-Mart and was allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance at the time of her arrest.

Molly A. Crowe, 45, of Bergen, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI with a BAC of .18 or greater, and refusing an initial roadside breath screening. Crowe was reportedly stopped on Route 262 in Byron by state troopers after allegedly driving her car across the center line several times. Crowe was sent to Genesee County Jail on $250 bail.

The State Police have arrested five young men from Genesee County on a felony charge of criminal mischief.

The five people are accused of doing $3,500 in damage to a rental property on Cockran Road in Byron.

A sixth person from Monroe County was also charged, and a warrant has been issued for the arrest of a seventh.

Charged were

• Nicholas J. Adkins, 18, of Byron
• Timohty A. Andrews, 19, of Bergen
• Nathaniel L. Beglinger, 18, of Byron
• Adam J Drexler, 19, of Webster
• Elan B Pire, 20, of Byron

And the sixth suspect is 17-years-old.

The DOT today announced a $585,737 project to pave a portion of Route 262 in Elba and Bryon.

The contract is expected to be awarded to Hanson Aggregates New York of Jamesville.

The section will stretch from Route 98 to Route 237.

The announcement was contained in a press release that announced several projects across WNY. All of the projects will take about two weeks each, with most of the work being done before the end of the summer, but all projects completed before 2010.

Also from the press release:

The economic-recovery funds coming to New York State for transportation projects must follow the same process required for distributing all federal transportation funds. The funds are allocated to projects that are selected by the 13 regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) across the state, which are comprised of local elected officials, local transit operators and NYSDOT representatives. MPOs vote unanimously on projects for their Transportation Improvement Program, and the projects are candidates for economic-recovery funds.  These paving projects were approved by the Genesee Transportation Council to be eligible to receive ARRA funding.

The Byron Heritage Festival is happening on Saturday, July 25th, with an incredible array of events for the public to enjoy from morning until midnight.  The Festival takes place in the park that is located behind the Byron Fire Hall on Rt. 262 near the center of town.  So please mark July 25th on your calendars, and come to Byron's Fireman's Park for a day full of fun, and dance the night away with live entertainment and beautiful fireworks. 

8:00 - 10:00 AM - Kiwanis Fishing Derby (sign-in begins at 7:30 AM)

9:00 AM - 5K Kid's Race and 10:00 AM 5K Adult Race (sponsored by Boy Scout Troop #13, registration begins at 8:30 AM)

9:00 AM -5:00 PM - Craft and Food Vendors

9:00AM - Garage Sales throughout the town

11:00 AM - 3:00 PM - Cruise In

12 Noon - Chicken BBQ (sponsored by the Byron Fire Dept, til sold out)

11:00 AM - Geoffrey Clough

12:00 PM - Renaissance Man

1:00 PM - Magician James Swatt

2:00 PM - Belly Dancers

2:00 PM - Horseshoe Tournament (sponsored by Sue Fuller)

2:30 PM - Sack Race/Balloon Toss/3 Legged Race

3:00 PM - Ghostriders

4:00 PM - Hot Dog Eating Contest

5:00 PM - Pig Roast (sponsored by the Byron Presbyterian Church, til sold out, tickets $8, take-outs only, served at the Town Park),

5:30 PM - Beautiful Gardens of Byron winners announced

6:00 PM - Savage Cabbage (sponsored by the Byron Hotel)

9:00 PM - Midnight -Bandera

9:30 PM Fireworks

Portions of the day are made possible with funds from the Decentralization program, a regrant program of the New York State Council of the Arts, administered by the Genesee-Orleans Arts Council through the Byron Bergen Public Library.  For more information about the Byron Heritage Festival, please call Debra at 548-7123x10, or look at the town web site:  http://www.byronny.com/. 

Byron Bergen Public Library Board of Trustees issued the following statement yesterday:

The Trustees of the Byron Bergen Public Library are actively pursuing options to keep both the village location and the location at the Gillam-Grant Community Center open, in the interest of serving both communities.   We are currently seeking bridge funding from a variety of sources and have received a grant from Nioga Library System to start the process.

The Gillam-Grant Community Center will no longer providing funding for library staff at that location and the trustees hosted two public meetings last month seeking community input on options.  There was a good deal of support for each of the current locations remaining, and neither location appears suited to becoming the only library in the Byron-Bergen area.

Nicholas Jacob Ridge Adkins, 18, of 6954 Swamp Road, Byron, is charged with a felony count of burglary and a misdemeanor charge of petty larceny. He is accused of entering a neighboring residence and stealing property from the house. Bail is set at $2,500.

Richard Mungo, 42, 3252 Pine Terrace #3, Macedon, is charged with petty larceny. Mungo allegedly stole a variety of items from the gift shop at Darien Lake Theme Park on June 30.

David Tuttle, 69, 1 Hidden Meadows Drive, Bergen, is charged with harassment. He is accused of punching a neighbor in the face twice during an argument in front of their homes. He was arraigned in Bergen Town Court and released on his own recognizance.

Parents of Byron-Bergen students were informed late Friday afternoon, according to WBTA, that a student at Byron-Bergen Elementary School contracted H1N1 flu.

A copy of the automated notification was obtained by WBTA, and Superintendent Gregory Geer wrote, “This H1N1 (Swine Flu) strain of flu, although hyped in the media, is a mild form of influenza.”

According to the New York State Health Department Web site, 1,756 people in New York have contracted H1N1.

Gary Engle, 24, of 7549 Mechanic St., Byron, is charged with reckless endangerment. Engle is accused of shooting his .22 calibre rifle and 12-gauge shotgun in his backyard on June 13 at 3:15 without properly checking his backstop in the direction he was firing. The bullets reportedly entered the backyard of a neighbor where adults and children were present. No injuries were reported.

Jayson M. Connolly, 35, of 135 S. Main St., Apt. 10, is charged with assault in the third degree and criminal contempt in connection with three alleged incidents over a three-day period. On June 17, at about 7:30 p.m., Connolly allegedly swatted a stick from a bonfire hitting a female acquaintance with the stick and causing burn and blister on her right and left thigh area. On June 18, at about 11:45 p.m., Connolly allegedly phoned the woman in violation of an order of protection. On June 19, at about 11:45 a.m., Connolly allegedly tried to speak to the woman again in violation of the order of protection. Connolly was arrested and placed in Genesee County Jail without bail.

Jon M. Dambra, 21, of 22 Berry Grove Lane, Brockport, is charged with DWI and unlawful possession of marijuana following a traffic stop for allegedly speeding in the City of Batavia. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Jason Flansburg, 32, of 139 Woodlands Way, Brockport, was reportedly a guest at the Holiday Inn early yesterday morning when he began cussing and making loud noises at about 3:30 a.m.  Flansburg was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. He was also reportedly had some marijuana and was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Cory Jones, 26, of 5965 Main Road, Stafford, was stopped yesterday a little after midnight for an alleged traffic violation. Sheriff's deputies allegedly found him with marijuana and he was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Jerad M. Stalker, 25, of 8874 Hartshorn Road, Batavia, was stopped on Lovers Lane Road yesterday morning around 2 a.m.  He was charged with DWI, having a BAC of .08 or greater, improper parking on a road way and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Toni White, 28, of 14 S. Main St., Batavia, is charged with trespassing. The trespassing charge stems from a previous accusation of shoplifting at Wal-Mart. Following the initial charge, it was discovered that White had reportedly been banned from Wal-Mart, leading to the trespass charged on the date of the alleged shoplifting incident.

Terrance Dolan, 22, of 88 Woodcrest Blvd., Buffalo, and Sean T. Hennessy, of 41 Neuman Parkway, Buffalo, are charged with trespass in relation to events at the No Doubt concert at Darien Lake June 19 at 10:50 p.m. Dolan is accused of trying to enter a private area of the concert area and Hennessy is accused of trying to go backstage.

Andrew Paul Weick, 22, of 116 State St., Tonawanda and Paige Marie Fagan, 23, of 116 State St., Tonawanda, are accused of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana. Weick and Fagan were reportedly at the No Doubt concert at Darien Lake when they were allegedly found in possession of hydrocodone, cocaine and marijuana.

Scott D. Larnder, 32, of 3 Jerome Place, Batavia, is charged with DWI, speeding and failure to take pre-screen test.  He was reportedly stopped on Route 5 near Sanders Road in Stafford. Larnder was arraigned the morning of June 19 and released.

Caitlin E. Mahoney, 22, of 84 Walter St., Tonawanda, is charged with DWI and a BAC of .08 or more. Mahoney was reportedly stopped at the side of the road on Route 33 in the Town of Batavia when contacted by deputies. Mahoney stated she was looking for the Thruway. Upon investigation, deputies concluded Mahoney was allegedly operating a motorvehicle while intoxicated.

William Briggs, 42, of 15 Savannah St, Apt. 6H, is charged with petty larceny for allegedly shoplifting from Target.

Bridget K. Grayson, 41, 8272 Gully Road, LeRoy, is charged with felony DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater along with driving to the left of pavement markings in a no passing zone, improper turn signal, driving slow and impeding traffic and failure to notify DMV of address change. Grayson was reportedly stopped on Route 237 in Stafford on June 19 just after midnight.

There are at least four options -- and maybe more, listening to the people who attended the public meeting last night at Byron Town Hall -- for the citizens of Byron and Bergen to consider for library space now that the Gillam-Grant Community Center will stop funding support for the library in that facility.

About 40 people attended last night's meeting, and most had something to say about the library situation.

"We have a lot of work to do," Kristin Gordon, financial secretary for the Byron-Bergen Public Library Board, said after the meeting. "It's obvious to me that the consensus of the crowd is to keep both libraries open. The public feedback is important. There were lots of good points made tonight and I assure you none of it will fall on deaf ears.

Certainly, both library locations have their supporters.

The town people seem to favor Gillam-Grant, while the village folk like their easily accessible library location.

"Kids walk to the library every day," Cheryl Wittman, of Bergen, who said she's lived in the area for 29 years. "A lot of the programs they have at night, the summer programs, and lots of parents work so they can't take them there, so they need to walk."

An older woman in the audience said a short time later, “It’s got to stay in the village. It’s got to.”

But many town residents seemed to favor the Gillam-Grant location, arguing that it is more easily accessible to the entire community, not just the village residents.

It is also a newer, slightly large facility.

The village library is about 1,400 square feet and was described by board members as small and in need of expansion.  The Gillam-Grant location is 2,000 square feet and has room for offices and storage space.

The rent for the Gillam-Grant location, however, is $8,000 per month, while the village location is $1,200 per month.

One audience member pointed out that with a combined library, with increased traffic and more books to store, the additional 600 sq. ft. isn't that much more space.

And all of the options for the community are like that -- every option has pros in cons.

In fact, every member of the crowd received a piece of paper that listed the four main options with the pros and cons of each option written out.

The four primary options are:

• Close the Gillam-Grant location and keep the village location;
• Close the village location and keep Gillam-Grant
• Obtain school district/special district library status
• Keep both locations open, relying on existing town funding or through status change.

None of the options are clear-cut winners.  Besides the financial and space constraints associated with the current locations, an option that involves creating a new special district would take 18 months to two years to complete.

The funding for the Gillam-Grant location -- which pays for building operations and staffing -- is set to expire Dec. 31.

The comunity has a chance to come together again tonight at 7 p.m. to discuss the issue at the Bergen Village Hall.

A 17-year-old Byron gril is charged with petty larceny. The teenager is accused of putting items in her purse at Wal-Mart and then walking past all points of purchase.

Markeda Starks, 18, of 7 Mill St., #7, Batavia, is charged with petty larceny. Starts is accused of shoplifting at Wal-Mart.

Toni White, 28, of 14 S. Main St., Batavia is charged with petty larceny. White is accused of stealing from Wal-Mart.

Shaleesa Woods, 18, of 2964 Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, Batavia, is accused of stealing from Wal-Mart. She was charged with petty larceny.

Emilea Webster, 20, of 126 Frank St., Medina, Batavia, is accused of shoplifting from Wal-Mart. Webster was charged with petty larceny.

Timothy Wood, 20, of 115 S. Main St., Batavia, is charged of petty larceny. He is accused of shoplifting from Wal-Mart.

Teri Sczepanski, 47, of 2034 Lewiston Road, Basom, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Sczepanski allegedly drove another person's car without permission.

Just a friendly reminder....

 Public forums in Bergen and Byron will be conducted for the residents to
voice their support or concerns about consolidating the two libraries will be held at the following locations and times....

Wednesday, June 17th 2009 - 7:00pm at the Byron Town Hall
Thursday, June 18th - 7:00 pm at the Bergen Town Hall

For more information, you can go to either library and pick up an information packet

or it can be downloaded from the Byron-Bergen Public Library's website at  bbplibrary.wordpress.com/

Railroad crossing at Beaver Meadow Road, W. Bergen Road and Townline Road will be closed today for repairs.