The Times has learned that Palmyra Village Police Chief, David Dalton, is being forced to retire as of May 6th.

Dalton, has been the police chief since October of 1981, but hit the mandatory retirement age of 70 last August. Under Dalton’s retirement level, unless the Village agreed to a two-year waiver (request for continuation of service), with a medical approval, he must retire.

The Village has decided not to grant a waiver. Village Mayor Chris Piccola refused to say why the Village would not grant the waiver in Dalton’s case, but added, “The Village will not employ anyone past the mandatory retirement age.”

Piccola, along with Village trustee, Pat Nolan, informed Dalton on Tuesday afternoon that the Village would not hire another Sergeant to fill the position of retiring Sergeant James Showman. Showman, the number two man at the department, is retiring as of April 25th. Piccola  also informed Dalton that the Village would  be looking to find a new police chief.

Piccola would not comment on any other reasons for replacing the Chief, but area villages have been in a budget crunch with local police department budgets. Police budgets are the highest department budgetary cost to village taxpayers. Dalton’s gross pay last year was $87,500 plus benefits.

Dalton has been with the Palmyra Police for a total of 33 years and will be two weeks shy of a 45 year career  in law enforcement.

The move by the Village will leave the five-man department with three officers, David Smith, Adam Husk (son of Village Trustee David Husk) and Brian Parkison. Smith will be asked to take over the duties of the Sergeant, while remaining as a patrolman. The Times has learned Smith has already interviewed for the  Chief’s position.

Mayor Piccola refused to elaborate as to what steps the Board will take concerning the police department’s future. “We have lots of things to discuss.”

On 04/12/14, State Police investigated a one-vehicle fatal collision that occurred at approximately 4:47 a.m. on Furnace Road in the Town of Wolcott. A vehicle being operated by Charles R. Geiwitz Jr., age 28, of 6354 East Port Bay Road, Wolcott, New York was traveling east on Furnace Road. The vehicle left the north side of the road for an unknown reason, struck a utility pole and overturned. Geiwitz was pronounced dead at the scene by Wayne County Coroner Doctor David Hannan. A passenger in the vehicle, Maranda Bean, age 21, of North Rose, New York was flown to Upstate Medical Center by Mercy Flight. She was being treated for multiple fractures and listed in serious, but stable condition. The cause of the collision is still under investigation. The Wolcott Fire Department, Lakeshore Rescue and Fair Haven Rescue assisted at the scene.

On Thursday, animal cruelty agents were on hand to rescue a large number of animals from a debris-strewn property on 7093 North Centenary Road in Sodus, where many horses had injuries due to the grounds conditions.

Among the 16 horses, 1 cow and a number of chickens and hens, was a horse with a puncture wound from walking on the debris, a horse with a broken leg, and two dead horses.
One miniature horse, one cow and all of the fowl that were seized were taken to the Cracker Box Palace Rescue facility.

According to Tom Littlefield, a Wayne County Animal Abuse Investigator, Lollipop Farm in Rochester was able to accommodate and board 15 of the horses.

Littlefield has been to the farm on previous occasions, but said the conditions he witnessed on Thursday had never reached this severity.

According to officials on the scene, a warrant to search the property and evaluate the animals’ condition was secured after the property owner, Cindy Denninger, refused to cooperate with authorities. A veterinarian accompanied both police and the Animal Abuse Investigators and said because of the animals’ and property conditions, the animals had to be seized immediately.

Denninger was visibly upset at the seizure. She told Littlefield she got the horses “off the track from Finger Lakes’ (race track). At one point Denninger’s daughter reportedly called Littlefield while he was on the scene, launching “a number of ‘F’ bombs via the phone. The daughter told Littlefield some of those horses were hers and were her “money makers”.

“Horses are an unbelievable amount of work and can be a lot of money to keep up. When you have 16 of them, it is just a tremendous amount of work, said Littlefield. He added that Denninger, who told him she only receives workman’s compensation, probably set out with good intentions for the animals. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” he added.

Wayne County District Attorney Rick Healy said charges against Denninger will be filed this week. He added that unfortunately there is not much of a market for horses. At the present time, Cracker Box Rescue in Sodus is at capacity and was unable to take more of the seized animals. Denninger reportedly signed over the animals to the Humane Society of Monroe County.

Neighbors helping neighbors. That was the way things got done on Sunday night (4/13/14) following a barn fire call that went out at 3976 Walworth Ontario Road in Walworth.

“It was about 7:30 at night and I had just putting the kids to bed,” said Kate Worthingtin. Her husband Bill was just coming into the house from milking the cows in the barn. She said he went up to shower and check on the kids (4 year old Jacob and 1-1/2 year old Annabelle).

“Some time went by, and looking out the window from my seat on the couch, I saw the light behind the barn and was admiring how the sunset was very bright. I finally realized it was flames. I called 911 immediately and called to Bill,” Kate explained.

The family exited the house and stood in the neighbor’s driveway to the south, to let firefighters do their job. “I would not let Bill run back to the barn to try to save things.”

Kate was surprised at the number of neighbors, other farmers, and strangers who came out to quickly help move vehicles, farm equipment and just do what they could to help.

“All of this happened so quickly – some people were there before the firefighters even arrived. I noticed the license plate on my car was sort of melted.” One firefighter mentioned that the recycling bin on the porch of the house had melted.

“My friend, Beth, who I have known since Kindergarten, hurried over to  help and kept the kids safe. At their neighbor’s house, the children were sitting down, and drinking water and trying to be remain calm. Jacob, the Worthingtin’s 4 year old son called the neighbor’s house the “stabilizer house”, because he heard they were supposed to be calm and stabilize themselves there.

Flames engulfed the barn quickly and, in the end, the building was a total loss, as well as a bulk milk tank, some of the milking equipment, a tractor, hay and straw.

The miraculous thing, to Kate and her family, as well as many of the firefighters, was that the Worthingtin’s home was saved. With the proximity of the residence to the barn and the wind so prevalent earlier in the day, firefighters continued to soak and monitor the home to save it. Other residences were also close by, but, other than the barn, no one lost property.

Amazingly, 50 cows, who apparently hunkered down in the basement of the barn, were still safe when the flames were doused. Three calves died. Quick thinking neighbors helped to load trailers and transport the rest of the cattle to a nearby dairy farm to be sheltered.

Chad Amsler of Lincoln agreed to shelter the 50 cows and has allowed Bill Worthingtin to milk and feed his cows at the Amsler farm. “Chad has been so generous, as have many area farmers who have donated hundreds and thousands of dollars worth of hay and straw and equipment.

“We are grateful to all the firefighters who turned up that night to fight and put out the fire, and later the next day to check on hot spots”, said Kate. “The Walworth fire chief Dave Osborne has given us his phone number in case of any flair ups.”

The Worthingtins will now wait for insurance inspection, demolition and clean up, but definitely plan to get back into the dairy business. Bill is originally from Canton, NY. Kate (whose maiden name is Austin) is a Macedon native.

“This is all my husband knows. He has done it all his life. We will be milking cows again.”

She started to name all the people who helped…Tom Packard, Kyle Kraft, John Deisenroth, all the firefighters, their friends and neighbors.  “I just can’t remember them all or thank them enough,” Kate stated.

State Police responded to a report of a vehicle that went in to Mill Pond in the Village of Red Creek on Sunday (4/20) at about 7:30 p.m.

A vehicle operated by Alexander Verburg, age 21, of County Line Road in Red Creek apparently lost control at Canada and South Street, crashed through a street sign and guardrail and ended up in the pond. One large piece of guard rail was thrown into the waterand was left standing upright after the car hit the street sign,guard rail and went into the fence into the water. The vehicle ended up close to the north side of the shore a distance away from the entry point.

Two witnesses, one man filling up on gas at the nearby Pit Stop convenience store and another passerby immediately jumped in and were able to break the window of the vehicle and open the door. The Good Samaritans were Chad Acomb and Zachary Ingelston were later identified by police.

Both Red Creek and Fairhaven Fire and rescue personnel responded to aid in the rescue.

It was believed Verburg suffered some sort of seizure from a medical condition. The accident is still under investigation.

On Friday morning (4/27/14), former Savannah Supervisor Donald Colvin passed away at the Wayne County Nursing Home. Don was Chairman of the Wayne County Board of Supervisors from 1966 until 1972, serving as a member of the board for 48 years and 1 month. Don was the longest continually serving Town Supervisor in New York State (1959-2007). He was a Korean veteran, having served for 15 months during the Korean conflict. He was a member of the Savannah American Legion Post and the Montezuma Veterans of Foreign Wars Post.

Don was born on January 18, 1927 in Butler, New York. He married his wife Lynn in 1949.

In 1957, Don purchased his first funeral home in Savannah and in 1973, he bought the Robertson Funeral home in Sodus. He would eventually sell both funeral homes to Norton Funeral homes in 1997.

Very involved in community service, Don was a member and past Master of the Savannah Lodge 764 F & AM (Masonic Lodge), a member of the Royal Arch of the Masons, a member of the Commandry and the Damascus Shrine.  Don served for 56 years as a member of the Savannah Fire department, and was on the Board of Directors of the Butler-Savannah Cemetery Association, and the Board of Directors of the Newark Wayne Community Hospital, He was also a member of the Savannah Chamber of Commerce and Wolcott Rotary Club. In 1966, Don founded the Wayne County Action (WAYNECAP) program, and was a past Director of the program and Board member Emeritus. He retired from the Wayne County Board of Supervisors in 2007.

Butler Supervisor, Dave Spickerman said of the man with whom he served for 20 years,”Don  remembered everything. If I asked him about some   event that happened on the board, he wouldn’t even hesitate; he would just say, “Oh, yeah, I remember that.”

Spickerman had known Colvin even before their time serving on the Board of Supervisors. “He grew up in Butler.”

A few long time friends and colleagues were at Don’s bedside on Friday when he passed, including Dave Spickerman and close friend, former Planning Director Sharon Lilla.

“He was in the Nursing Home recovering, but he expected to go home soon. I will miss him very much. “Don was a surprising man, in that he was very thrifty, and yet he would always make sure people in need were helped,” Dave mused. “He never would let someone lose their home for back taxes. He would bend over backwards to help them find a way to keep their home. He was a very caring man.”

Assemblyman Bob Oaks said: “Over 48 years as Savannah Town Supervisor, Don Colvin used his energy, time and talent to serve the Town of Savannah and all of Wayne County. I worked with Don for many of those years and witnessed his ability to come up with a rational option when others saw no solution. Wayne County has lost a political icon and one who dedicated most of his life to public service.”

The Palmyra Village Board is in the final negotiations to bring retired Palmyra Police Officer Sherman Yates back, and appoint him to the position of Palmyra Village Police Chief. The Board met early last week and offered the position to Yates, who worked with the Palmyra Police from 2005 until his retirement in 2012.

“An offer was made to him (Yates) and he made a counter offer, said Palmyra Mayor Chris Piccola. Although the final “period” has not yet been put down on paper, the Board is expected to finalize the deal with Yates this week. A special Village Board meeting to go into an executive session to discuss a personnel matter is set for Monday (4/28) night. “We need to have someone in place by May 7th, the day former Palmyra police Chief David Dalton is set to retire.

Dalton was forced out by the Board after he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 last August, set by his tier retirement plan. The Board was only notified by the State recently and decided not to ask for a two-year extension on the forced retirement.

Yates, who was the former Police Chief in the Mt. Morris Police Department, before having a falling out with the Mt. Morris Board. He began his law enforcement career in the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office and had compiled a total of 18 years of police duty before being hired by Dalton.

Mayor Piccola said he has learnedmore about the state retirement system over the past week than he ever wanted to know. Questions of how Yate’s retirement delay/suspension of benefits would be implemented came into question. Dalton’s gross pay last year was $87,500 plus benefits. He had been with the Palmyra Police for a total of 33 years and will be two weeks shy of a 45 year career  in law enforcement. There was no information on the pay/benefits package offered to Yaters.

With the impending appointment of Yates and retirement of Sergeant James Showman this month the Village will be left with three officers, David Smith, Adam Husk (son of Village Trustee David Husk) and Brian Parkison.

Macedon Village Mayor Marie Cramer decided one trail along the Erie Canal was not enough for the Village. Although a north side trail already existed, Cramer had pushed canal side landowner, Jeff Beckenbach, stating a clear trail existed on his property and the Canal Authority, with the Village’s push, could create a new trail along the canal frontage.

Beckenbach, who purchased a 150 acre parcel several years ago, had the property surveyed and said the land the canal once claimed as a right-of-way had eroded away and the old markers were now several feet off his property and  in the canal itself.

Beckenbach claimed the Mayor put him through many hurdles on his way to build a $300,000 home on the site.  “I did everything they asked, but that wasn’t enough for her (Cramer). The confrontation even lead to Beckenbach receiving a call from a neighbor stating Cramer was on his property with another individual. He arrived and ordered them off his property.

The Village of Macedon landowner said he spent about $5,000 in survey and attorney fees to ensure the facts concerning his property were right. At one point the Mayor allegedly threatened Beckenbach that he would never get all the go-ahead he needed to develop the property for his own use, without granting her an easement.

“I do not want to build a $300,000 home only to have people walking by, or fishing off my property,” said Jeff.

After many calls, cancelled meetings and alleged veiled threats, Beckenbach pleaded his case with several other Macedon Village Board members. Two weeks ago, after an impassioned plea to hold off a decision, the Board shut down the Mayor’s stand and unanimously approved the plans for the new home, without any consideration of granting an easement for a future trail.

Still carrying out the fight for another trail along the Canal, on Tuesday (4/29) Mayor Cramer assembled representatives from the Canal Authority, a member of the Village’s Department of  Public Works, the Macedon Trail Committee and Beckenbach. Jeff also brought his lawyer and engineer/surveyor to the meeting. “After all I’ve gone through, I wasn’t going to show up alone, I don’t trust her (the Mayor),” commented Jeff. He also asked Macedon Village Board Member Don Lohse to attend.

Before the meeting started, Mayor Cramer told Lohse to leave, or she would have him arrested. “I wanted this to be a small, friendly meeting. He (Lohse) was not invited to the meeting. I don’t understand how it escalated to this,” said Cramer concerning the Times questioning her ordering Lohse to leave. “I was going to gather information and report back to the Board,” she added.

Lohse confirmed Cramer threatened to have him arrested if he stayed. “I don’t know why, perhaps she is trying to hide something,” said the Village Board member. He confirmed the location pins on Beckenbach’s property were “on the money” and that some of the old markers, along with some of Beckenbach’s own land is now under water.

After being pressed about the legality of threatening to have a fellow Board member arrested, Cramer replied “I felt I was being harassed and I think I can.” (…threaten to have Lohse arrested).

At the meeting, the State Canal representatives confirmed what their GPS search and what Beckenbach, his lawyer and engineer, have stated from the very beginning.

Mayor Cramer stated that the problem, she feels, came when the land’s previous owner and others, did not affirm what she considered as a verbal confirmation, sometime in the past, of an existing foot path, along what is now Beckenbach’s property.

The Mayor said she just wanted confirmation of the State’s GPS findings and that is why she held the meeting at the Village Hall. “I just wanted to get all the facts together.” She was asked how much money the Village had spent in the fight with Beckenbach. “A few thousand dollars,” she stated. Later she e-mailed the Times a corrected amount of “$37” spent by the Village.

“There were no restrictions on my deed. There was not enough property of the old shoreline for an easement and we knew that five years ago. What this woman has put me through…” said Beckenbach. “She had all the facts two, or three months ago, but I had to hold off building. It is the Village taxpayers who are suffering,” he added. Jeff said the rest of the Village Board and Planing Board have been “fantastic”. She and those trail people just had it in their heads they wanted another trail on the village side of the canal and they could use an old path as a trail.”

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Special Department of Social Services (DSS) Fraud Unit reported the arrest on Monday (4/28) of Randolph R. Chavis, age 41, of 4127 West Walworth Road in Walworth. Chavis, originally from the New York City area, was picked up by Deputies after a joint investigation conducted with several DSS departments.

It was found that Chavis was receiving a cash grant from DSS, issued on Randolph’s behalf, to help with his child care costs, while he worked. Chavis was also receiving food stamps for what he reported was his single parent household. In reality, investigators were able to show that the day care was provided by a family member who also resided in the home with Chavis and his wife, Doris.

The wife, who told police she resided in Binghamton, lied and is also employed full time. The couple was not eligible for public assistance. From 2011 through 2013, the Chavis family received just shy of $40,000 in cash and food stamps that they were not entitled to. “They worked the system like pros,” said Investigator Alan Graham. While being questioned, Chavis admitted to the crimes. He has a prior conviction out of the New York City area for drug sales.

Investigators charged Randolph with one count of Felony Welfare Fraud and 5 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the first degree. He was arraigned on all counts and was committed to the County jail in lieu of bail. Further court process is expected in the Lyons Village court.

Doris Chavis, age 33, was arrested on Thursday evening and charged with Offering a False Statement for Filing in the 1st Degree. She was released to appear in the Village of Lyons Court.

Investigator Alan Graham gave credit to the DSS caseworkers “For doing an exceptional job in researching this case.”

It took a while to set up. The drugs would be transported down from the Akwesasne Indian Reservation that straddles boundaries on both the intersection of international (United States and Canada) borders and provincial (Ontario and Quebec) boundaries on both banks of the St. Lawrence River. Two people would be hired as “drug mules”. They would be recruited from the unemployed and given $100 per pound to transport 59 pounds of marijuana and 1000 MDMA/Ecstasy pills to a pre-selected location in Wayne County, where the transfer would take place. The reservation is a big importation traffic site for contraband on the northern border, according to Macedon Police Chief/WayneNet Co-Commander, John Colella. Federal focus in the past years has been to interrupt the flow from the north. “We had a similar case to the one we did in 2007 with over one million a month coming down…,” said Colella.

The “mules” selected have no prior police records. They really have no idea who, or how the drug trafficking affects anyone, or anything outside their own financial gain. If the mules get picked off, it is hard to tie the drug transaction back to the dealer. Arrests are seen as the cost of doing business. If the two mules had been successful, the money handed over for the drugs would have been headed back towards the reservation.

Monday (5/5), WayneNet, the County-wide, multi-police drug enforcement team, assisted by the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), sprung the trap at a local mini-storage facility. After almost two years of work, the two drug mules were taken into custody. Teresa Herne, age 47, of Quebec, Canada and Dean Frary, age 41, of Hogansburg, New York were both charged with Class C Felony Criminal Possession of Marijuana in the 1st Degree, with other charges pending. Both were arraigned in Macedon Court and remanded to the Wayne County jail on $75,000 cash/$150,000 bond.

The drugs seized had a reported street value of $250,000 for the marijuana and $20,000 for the pills.

David Murphy of Newark was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle in   July of 2013  through Fairville, when he was hit by a 17 year old driving an SUV. He was taken to Strong by Mercy  Flight where he spent a total of 9 weeks, 2 unresponsive and 4 in the  Rehabilitation unit.

According to his wife, Tracy, she was told he had less than a 1% chance of walking again.

“This man is one of the most active people I know. He hunts and fishes, and when he’s not doing that he is working. He is a funeral director in Newark but helps  out all of the funeral homes between Buffalo and Syracuse,” said Tracy.

The Murphy’s friends and family rallied around them and helped them raise money to build a new deck and  a wheelchair ramp. The money also helped them make renovations to their bathroom so that it was more accessible for his wheelchair.

In January 2014, David went to a  Sportsman’s Show and was introduced to the “Action Tracker” chair. This chair would allow him to maneuver over any outdoor terrain with ease. It is a wheelchair that resembles a tank.

Once again friends and family have rallied around the couple to help them  achieve their goal of $13,000 to purchase that chair.

Last week their was a “ Zumba-thon” fundraiser at Refuel in Newark and that event raised just shy of $1,000. The family’s “Go Fund Me “ fundraiser came in at $4,000. The rest of the money they borrowed.

Tracy reported that last week, her  husband got up and went out on his action tracker chair and got a turkey.

“He was so happy. I’m pretty sure that the spinal docs didn’t have this in mind when  they told me my husband would be independent in a chair,” said a grateful Tracy. “I am  so proud of my husband for not giving up, but for our friends, family and community for not giving up on us! Sometimes it’s the little things in life we take for granted, and sometimes the little  things aren’t so little.”

The Pultneyville Yacht Club was inundated with dead fish and plump, happy seagulls last week leaving local boaters with questions. Why all the dead and dying fish and just how many seagulls can fit in to one square foot?

Yacht Club members and customers of the adjacent Landing at Pultneyville became victims of sudden bird flights and accompanying cars also felt the brunt of bird droppings.

Jim Deatsch, member and Environmental Officer for the Yacht Club said he noticed struggling and dying fish cropping up about 10 days ago. “The gulls were having a field day. I even saw a couple of turkey buzzards come by, but they were chased off by the seagulls,” said Deatsch. “This is not a good thing. The gulls won’t eat the dead ones,” he added.

Yacht Club member Don Byrnes of Walworth said he noticed the tens of thousands of dead fish and accompanying seagulls last Wednesday. The main channel of the Yacht Club remained clear, but the offshoot dock areas remained cluttered with dead and dying fish.

The small fish, known as alewives, often exhibit seasonal die-offs and can be seen, usually in mid-May, washed up on the shorelines of the Great Lakes. Alewives were introduced to the Great Lakes as food fish for the species such as lake trout and the introduced Pacific salmon.

Ironically, the DEC (Department of Conservation) had poured thousands of 4” to 6” brown trout off the Pultneyville Point a week before.

Was this a case of nature taking its course and an alewives die-off, or was there something amiss with the fish? Why did the fish die just in the Pultneyville channel and nowhere else along the shoreline in either direction?

The DEC was not taking any chances. On Tuesday (5/13) the DEC took samples of the dead fish and sent them to Cornell for testing. Some on the scene believed it could be viral hemorrhagic septicemia, a deadly infectious fish disease that afflicts over 50 species of freshwater and marine fish in several parts of the northern hemisphere.

Webster (Web) Pearsall, the Regional Fishery Manager for the DEC out of the Avon Office, was leaning more to the natural cause of the fish die-off. “This is part of a normal cycle.” The cold winter and warm waters feeding the lake cause a sudden rift in water temperatures that the alewives simply cannot tolerate. He noted that since the fish die-off in the Pultneyville channel, similar reports are now coming in from other Lake Ontario feeds, including the Genesee River outlet. “It is an issue of thermal shock on the fish,” concluded Pearsall. He added that the fish scoop-up and samples sent to Cornell was just to confirm what he believed. Sodus Town Supervisor and longtime boat captain, Steve Leroy, said he has seen this type of fish kill numerous times in his boating career. “I could be wrong, but I believe they will find no contaminants in the fish.”

SCHOOL BOARD VOTING RESULTS

MAY 20, 2014

Clyde-Savannah

BUDGET          301 YES         94 NO             PASSED

School Bus Proposition

286 YES          96 NO            PASSED

Transportation Vehicles Reserve Fund Proposition

275 YES          97 NO            PASSED

Student Member of Board Propositions

307 YES          68 NO            PASSED

Elected to the School Board:  (3 year terms):  Holly Drahms, John Sloan, Sandi Bastedo

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Gananda

BUDGET         293 YES         126 NO           –PASSSED

Proposition 2 – Bus Purchase

266 YES         147 NO           –PASSED

Board of Eelction Results

292 – Greg Whitney – ELECTED

266 Bill Buchko        - ELECTED

156 – Amy Szlucha

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Lyons

BUDGET:        312 YES         155 NO             — PASSED

Authorization to Expend Funds from Bus Purchase Reserve Funds

261 YES         137 NO           — PASSED

Board of Election results

200 ROBERT GROOM – Elected to a five year term

198 THEA HALL

57  BRANDON BURGESS

36  ZACHARY MCGORY

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Marion

BUDGET:        255 YES         89 NO             — PASSED

Proposition 2 – Use of Capital Reserve

250 YES         82 NO                                     — PASSED

Board of Election Results

306 Keith Hendricks  – ELECTED

279 Robert Marshall  – ELECTED

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Newark

BUDGET      490 YES                  240 No          – PASSED

Bus Purchase

492 YES                        184 NO      – PASSED

District Office Lease

470 YES                    NO 204        –  PASSED

Board of Election Results: Elected to 3 year terms:  Rebecca Vermeulen and Russell Harris

Newark Library Trustees  (two vacancies 5 year terms:  Andrew Chappell and Lisa Burley

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 North Rose Wolcott

BUDGET                272 YES              134 NO         PASSED

Prop. for Purchase of School buses

270 YES                 120 NO     PASSED

Prop. to Establish School bus capital Reserve

272 YES                  115 NO      PASSED

Elected to School Board:  Andres Mathes 239, Izetta Younglove 299,  Lucinda Collier  306, Edward Magin 221

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Palmyra Macedon

BUDGET        470 YES      136 NO   – PASSED

Proposition 2 – Bus Purchase

476 YES            132 NO  -  PASSED

Elected to Three year terms:   488 Laura Arrington, Sherry Lambert 442, Norbert Miller 347

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Red Creek

BUDGET                329 YES          67 NO      – PASSED

Bus Proposition    328 YEs          69  NO    – PASSED

Capital Reserve     325 YES         70 NO      – PASSED

Board of Election Results:

Christina Smith  287, elected to 3 year term,  William “Steve” Smith 280, elected to a 3 year term, Kristin Garland 259 elected to a 1 year term,  Lois Stanly received 145 votes, not elected

_________________________________

Sodus

BUDGET          190 YES      81 NO                  PASSED

Proposition 2 – Bus Purchased

178 YES     73 NO                    PASSED

Elected to School Board:  Tracy Sergeant and Laura Steffler-Alampi

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Wayne Central

BUDGET  840 YES              383 NO

Proposition 2

893 YES                 310 NO

Elected to School Board:  1038  Ron Miller,  831 Pamela Pendleton, 706 Dennis Landry  (all three year terms)

613 Debra Hibbard – not elected

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Williamson

BUDGET         253 YES         63 NO             — PASSED

Purchase of Two New School Buses

254 YES         59 NO             — PASSED

Board of Election Results

282  Angela DeFisher – ELECTED

261 Robert Wendler  – ELECTED

No comments from the Board of Education or the District Office, following a bombshell resolution at Thursday night’s Wayne Central School Board meeting.

——————————————-A resolution was passed which read:——————————————

“Wayne Central School District

Board of Education

R E S O L U T I O N -  APPOINTMENT OF ACTING SUPERINTENDENT

WHEREAS, Superintendent Renee Garrett will be temporarily unavailable to carry out her duties as Superintendent; and

WHEREAS, the Board is desirous of appointing a qualified person to serve as Acting Superintendent during the period commencing on or about May 27, 2014, to oversee and direct District operations, and to additionally provide the Board of Education with assistance during the anticipated leave of the Superintendent, and

WHEREAS, the Board of Education after due consideration, has determined that current Principal of Ontario Primary School, Robert LaRuche possesses the qualifications and experience to serve as the Acting Superintendent of the Wayne Central School District, to continue the orderly administration of the District’s educational and operational affairs and to undertake such duties and responsibilities on behalf of the District, and

WHEREAS, Mr. LaRuche has agreed to accept the Board’s offer of appointment to additionally serve as the District’s Acting Superintendent.

NOW, THEREFORE, this Board, pursuant to applicable provisions of the New York State Education Law, hereby appoints Robert LaRuche as Acting Superintendent of Schools of the Wayne Central School District at a per diem rate of $200.00 per day, effective on or about May 27, 2014; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that, as Acting Superintendent, Mr. LaRuche shall possess all authority and responsibility to serve as Superintendent of Schools of the Wayne Central School District; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Education Law, the District shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Mr. LaRuche from any claims which may arise in connection with his services as Acting Superintendent during such period.”

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The vote was unanimous, 8-1, with no further discussion.

The term “temporarily unavailable”  was not qualified with a time line.

No explanation was given for the change of status. It is unknown if Garrett will be back, or if a new Superintendent Search will begin. For now, Mr. LaRuche will be handling the duties of both positions, Acting Superintendent of Schools, and Principal of Ontario Primary.

Judy Gravino, the Town Clerk for the Town of Macedon for over 25 years, was recently honored by her peers,  earning the distinction of “Town Clerk of the Year 2014” from the New York State Town Clerk’s Association, for District 7. She also received kudos and several presentations and plaques from her local counterparts around Wayne County.

Judy has served as the Macedon Town Clerk for 26 years, and served as District Director for the NY State Town Clerk’s Association for all of that time. She has also served on various committees include: Mixer Committee, Clerk of the Year Committee, Scholarship committee and is a member of the Wayne County Clerk’s Association, having served as past treasurer. She holds the title of Registered Municipal Clerk, having completed requirements prescribed by the Association for that certification.

As Macedon Town Clerk, she also serves as Records Management Officer, Registrar of Vital Statistics, Notary Public, Water Billing Clerk and works closely with the Wayne County Water & Sewer Authority.

Judy was instrumental in salvaging and restoring documents and Vital Records following a devastating fire in 2001 at the old Town Hall building. For a time, she worked from her car, home and makeshift office, recreating her vault and each file, page by page, and helped to save a priceless book collection stored in the library.

Convicted Palmyra killer Chad Campbell told State Police Investigator David Gould that he started off killing animals. “Once I heard that, I knew he was capable of murder,” said Gould. A short time later Campbell admitted killing 15 year-old classmate Cindy Lewis and the 17 month old child she was babysitting, Curtis Rizzo. He eventually led police to where he threw the murder weapon, a long knife, tossed about 25 yards from where the bodies were found, in a field behind the Palmyra-Macedon Middle School.

Campbell had lured Cindy to the location with a phone call and said it was urgent she meet him.

It will soon be 24 years since that August, 1990 double murder, but this case was particularly brutal. “Why he stabbed the baby is mind boggling. Why not just leave after he killed the girl. There was so much devil meanness in him,” remembered former State Police Investigator David Gould.

Gould recalled their was no remorse for the crime Campbell admitted to. “He was not mentally ill, he knew what he was doing,” recalled Gould. “It was not a heat of the moment crime, he had planned the whole thing out,” he added.

It was one of the first cases to shake the foundation of any semblance of community solidarity. People in Palmyra, familiar with all three families  and relying on the rumor mill, were taking sides.

Soon, satanic overtones filtered into the discussions, and as a possible defense. Reasoning was beyond reason. No one understood how a schoolmate could murder a friend and a baby. It was long before the current malaise of student killings, appearing all too often in the news.

Rick Healy had become the County’s District Attorney on January 1st, 1991. Chad Campbell was 15 when his trail began in September of 1991, with Healy taking on the case.

The two week trial was fraught with emotion, accusations and possible other links to the crime. It eventually led to the death of another student by suicide, when the peer finger was pointed at him as being an accomplice.

In the end, the jury saw the true face of evil in Chad Campbell. He was sentenced as a juvenile to the maximum  of nine years to life for each of the murders. Once he was old enough at age 18,  he was transferred to a maximum adult prison.

Since that time, Campbell has acted as his own jail house attorney. He was eligible for parole the first time in 2008 and every two years since.

According to the latest parole hearing transcript on May 6th, Campbell was asked:

“Q. You raped and stabbed a 15 year old victim approximately 44 times, including slashing her throat. You also killed a 17 month old baby — A 17 month old victim that she was baby-sitting and that 17 month old was stabbed multiple times also ultimately having his throat slashed, is that generally accurate?

Campbell: Yes, sir….”

He went on to explain that he was having “a lot of problems emotionally”…” and that his mother had sent him for counseling. “What was going on in my life was a lot of problems at home with my parents and my family. I always took them I could never do anything right. Everything I did was wrong and that kind of built up. I had a little history of, I was scared of my parents, but I lashed out at other people because I saw them as weaker. That was my way of trying to make myself feel better. It was very irrational but I didn’t — I thought it would make me feel better to do, to hurt others and what not.

When asked why he called to have Cindy Lewis meet him in the field, Campbell responded:

“Chad: My mission was basically to rape and possibly kill, to be honest with you…”

The parole examiner asked Chad why, after he raped and killed Cindy, did he turn the violence towards the baby?

“Chad: “Curtis, which was the young boy, the baby’s name, he was crying and like I said I just, I wanted silence. I mean the noise, I was scared, adrenaline and I just, I just took a step or two over and I stabbed him. I mean he wasn’t doing anything, he was just an innocent like little boy and I had taken his life.”

Asked for any other comments before reaching a decision Campbell said:

“Chad: Yeah, I would just like to say that over my 23 years of being incarcerated, you know, I’ve had time to think about it, you know, what I’ve done. I don’t know how to express myself in words. I’m very nervous at this present time. I don’t come across like I should, but I just want to reiterate how sorry I am. I wish I could say I’m sorry to the victims and the families. I wish I could be forgiven but this was such a crime that I don’t think that’ll ever happen. You know, there’s been many nights where I’ve woken up like not knowing where I was and then I realized where I am and what I did to get here and that hurt me. The only thing I can do is change who I am.”

After due deliberation by the Parole Board Panel, the following decision was rendered:

“After a review of the record and interview, the panel has determined that if released at this time, there is a reasonable probability that you would not live and remain at liberty without again violating the law and your release would be incompatible with the welfare of society and would so deprecate the serious nature of the crime as to undermine respect for the law. The panel has considered your institutional adjustment including discipline and program participation Required statutory factors have been considered, including your risk to society, rehabilitation efforts, and your needs for successful re-entry into the community…”

Every time Curtis’ mother, Carol Hartnagel, grandmother, Elaine Hartnagel and Cindy Lewis’ mother, Nancy Lewis, have circulated petitions to present to the parole board, demanding Campbell never be released. Although they cannot appear at the actual parole procedure, the Hartnagel and Lewis families always meet with a parole board member to emphasize their resolve.

The first time, well over a thousand local residents signed the petition. The last parole hearing held May 6th, still had many of the same people signing, recalling that dark part of Palmyra Village history. “It is something I am going to do as long as I live,” stated Elaine Hartnagel. “No way do we want him out. He is a big threat to society and no one in town wants him out,” said Nancy Lewis.

When and if he is ever paroled, Chad said he would move back to Palmyra and live with his father and wife and “they are behind me 100%.” Chad had a prison wedding with a family friend and pen pal. He will be married for six years this August. He told the parole board he would like to go into some type of construction, possibly welding. He told the Board that he has attended “All  my mandatory programs with numerous volunteer programs.

David Gould retired from the State Police in 2004 and was elected Sheriff of Cayuga County in 2006. He will be seeking his third term this year.

Nancy Lewis works for Walmart in Macedon and said she gets a “lot of support from her co-workers”.

District Attorney Rick Healy has been the Wayne County District Attorney since 1991 and will seek reelection again next year. He hopes to end his law career as a judge.

Curtis’ mother, Carol, is now a manager for NOCO convenience stores. After Curtis’ death, she had two daughters, Lynsey, now age 18 and Layney, age 14. Both daughters are aware of their half-brother’s death and the full history of the case against Chad Campbell.

Elaine Hartnagel said that a day does not go by when she does not think about the case, the brutality of Chad Campell, and she will work to keep him in prison for the rest of his life.

When informed of the latest parole board decision to deny Chad Campbell parole, Sheriff David Gould’s comment was “It’s a great thing.”

New York State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D’Amico is saddened to announce the death of Trooper Christopher G. Skinner. Trooper Skinner was last assigned to the Traffic Incident Management Unit (TIM Detail), Troop C, Delaware County.
Around 12:00 p.m. on Thursday (5/29, Trooper Skinner was outside his marked State Police car conducting a vehicle and traffic stop on I-81 north of exit 6, between Chenango Bridge and Castle Creek, Broome County, when he was struck by a passing vehicle. Trooper Skinner was killed instantly.
The driver continued on a short distance before stopping and running into nearby woods. The operator was taken into custody shortly after 1:00 p.m. following a search. He was identified as Almond Upton, age 60, of Florida. He was charged and arraigned on Murder in the 1st Degree. It is alleged Upton was involved in side swiping two vehicles and injuring one driver prior to encountering Trooper Skinner. He allegedly left the passing lane and headed straight towards the trooper.

Trooper Skinner was a 13 year veteran of the New York State Police. He worked in Troops C, E and G. He was assigned to the TIM detail in June 2008.

Trooper Skinner is from Binghamton, NY and is survived by his mother, Sharyn, brother, Shawn, fiancé, Surrena, and two children, 15-year-old Kyle and 12-year-old Erin. Trooper Skinner was 42 years old.

Funeral arrangements will follow.
State Police would like to thank the Broome County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshal Service, Castle Creek Fire Department, and other federal and local first responders for their assistance.

State Police in Lyons responded to a report of a Palmyra woman who was found, by a relative, passed out at her home. Meghan E. Hinckley, age 25, of 423 East Main Street in the Village of Palmyra was found unconscious. At the time she was supposed to be watching her three children, a 5 month old baby, a 1-1/2 year old child and a 6 year old.

An ambulance transported Hinckley to Newark-Wayne Hospital where she was treated for a drug overdose. According to police, Hinckley became combative with hospital personnel.

Police confiscated a number of prescription pills and a straw with a white powder substance at the scene. The drugs are being tested for identification.

Hinckley was taken into custody at the hospital, transported to the Palmyra Court for arraignment.

She was charged with three counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. More charges are pending.

A relative took charge of the children.

Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-service grocery retailer in upstate New York, northern Pennsylvania and western Vermont, held a ground breaking event at the site of Tops’ future Walworth, NY location. This will be the company’s newest store and part of Tops’ major investment in the greater Rochester community.

It will be the second store for Tops in Wayne County. Tops President and CEO Frank Curci, developers from Walworth Plaza LLC, as well as Walworth Town and Wayne County officials were on hand to discuss what shoppers will see at the new Walworth location.

“The Wayne County community and the greater Rochester area are very important parts of our business,” Curci said.  “This store will be the latest addition to Tops’ commitment to growth and serving the grocery needs of our neighbors. Including current projects and those completed over the past three years, we are investing more than $25 million in the greater Rochester area to make for an exceptional shopping experience for our many customers.”

The new 42,674 square-foot store, located at 2140 Walworth Penfield Road in Walworth will open in 2015 and will create approximately 100 jobs. Curci described the new Walworth store’s layout as modern and efficient, as well as easy to navigate and having a true neighborhood feel.

Developer David Dworkin stated,    “Our goal, as a real estate developer is to see that the work progresses, and that we bring in a project that we can all be proud of.”

Included in the ground breaking ceremony, besides current County and Town officials, was retired Walworth Supervisor Bob Plant, whose vision, as far back as 7 years ago, has seen fruition with this new grocery store.

Peg Churchill, Wayne County Industrial Development Agency Executive Director, noted that working with Tops and the Walworth Plaza Corporation was a great process. She indicated that two very “stubborn” men helped make this launch possible. Former Supervisor Bob Plant and Walworth Plaza LLC partner Tony Evans.

Current Walworth Supervisor Patti Marini remarked that the town was proud and anxious to welcome the new business, one that will bring jobs and shoppers to Walworth.

Curci indicated that, while they are aiming for a Spring 2015 opening of the new store, a summer opening is more realistic. While a spokesman for Tops had indicated that gas pumps, usually built in conjunction with a new Tops store, would be built at a later date, the final decision about installing the pumps at the same time as the store opening, is being considered

“We are committed to investing in this area and as we look ahead, this region is a market we are looking to grow and expand in,” Curci added.

The Wayne County Office of the Sheriff reported that the death of a Town of Arcadia Man following an accident that occurred on Sunday (6/1) at 5:24 p.m. at the intersection of Tellier Road and Stebbins Road in the Town of Arcadia.

The operator of the motorcycle, Erik L. Loghry, age 53 of Whitbeck Road in Arcadia was operating his vehicle and struck a farm tractor. He succumbed to his injuries while at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Investigation into the cause of the accident is still ongoing.