Local News

News Release: Tompkins County Public Information Office

Jason Molino, currently City Manager of the City of Batavia, New York, has accepted Tompkins County’s offer of employment to become the County’s next County Administrator.  Mr. Molino’s selection is subject to formal appointment by the Tompkins County Legislature—that action scheduled for the Legislature’s December 19^th meeting.  The new administrator’s start date will be determined, once the appointment becomes official.

A credentialed local government management professional by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), with diversified experience in public administration, Mr. Molino has served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Fiscal Officer of the City of Batavia (Genesee County) since 2006, leading a city workforce of 130 (departments of Police, Fire, Public Works, Community/Economic Development, and Youth Bureau) and administering an annual operating budget of $25 million and a $25 million capital plan.  From 2004 to 2006, he served as Assistant to the Village Manager for the Village of Port Chester, New York, where he assisted in projects and issues related to operations, personnel, labor negotiations, and public engagement.  Mr. Molino is also a veteran, having served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve for seven years, achieving the rank of Petty Officer Second Class.

“We are very pleased to have Jason coming to join our team,” said Michael Lane, Chair of the Tompkins County Legislature.  “He brings with him a strong background in budgeting, labor relations, and management oversight; and has compiled a strong record of supervising a multi-department workforce, inter-municipal cooperation, and securing important grant funding for his community.  Jason’s credentials are a great fit for county government and I know our residents and businesses will welcome him and work with him to keep our county moving forward on its course for success.”

“I am truly honored to be given this opportunity to work for such a progressive community,” Mr. Molino said.  “Tompkins County is recognized across the State of New York as a leader in government, and I’m looking forward to being part of this team.  My family and I are eager to become members of the community and enjoy all that Tompkins County has to offer.”

Mr. Molino holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University of Albany, State University of New York and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont.  Mr. Molino is married with four children (ages 3, 5, 7, and 18) and currently resides in Batavia, New York.

Tompkins County began a national search for a new County Administrator in July 2017, after former administrator Joe Mareane announced his intent to retire. A diverse search committee comprised of county legislators, department heads, labor representatives, and community members narrowed a field of more than 20 applicants and conducted interviews.  Three were recommended to the full County Legislature and were interviewed by all 14 members; new Legislators-elect observed and asked questions.

The County Administrator is the chief executive officer of Tompkins County.  The Administrator serves at the pleasure of the Legislature and is responsible for conveying the will of the Legislature to departments and representing the concerns of departments to the Legislature.  The Administrator is routinely charged with highly complex projects and challenging responsibilities, among them   development of the annual recommended County budget, appointment and supervision of non-elected department heads, ensuring that policies of the Legislature are followed, managing special projects of the Legislature, and representing the County Legislature at the state and local level.

Press Release:

Genesee County Employees from the Sheriff’s Office, Jail Division, Highway Department, Probation Department, De-partment of Motor Vehicles and County Clerk’s Office were among the many departments that donated food and cash for the Holiday Tote Project sponsored by the Batavia Kiwanis Club working in conjunction with the local Salvation Army and United Way.

The CSEA General Employees Unit donated $200 and the County Clerk’s Office held a “Dress Down for Charity” event to raise funds for the Tote Project. With these efforts and several generous personal donations County Employees col-lected over $700 in cash and several hundred food items.

Batavia Kiwanis Club President, Matt Landers, was thrilled by the generosity exhibited by the Genesee County work-force. “I’m amazed every year at the ability of the Genesee County employees to give more than the previous year! The kindness of Genesee County employees is going to help make Christmas brighter for dozens of local families.”

(Photo courtesy of Paul White)

Press Release:

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

The western New York “wonder from down under” Chumlee A, proved once again that he is the best pacer currently on the grounds as he led a fast :57 back half under heavy duress on a cold night to win the final $10,000 Open Handicap pacing feature of the meet at Batavia Downs on closing night (Dec. 16).

It took Chumlee A (Larry Stalbaum) over a quarter of a mile to get the lead as Don’tcallmefrancis (Billy Davis Jr.) played hardball on the front-end. But eventually the Aussie got there after a quick :28 second split before he put on the brakes to the half to get a short breather. Not content with the slowing pace, Focus Power (Drew Monti) pulled at the half and started one heck of a fight.

Drawing alongside Chumlee A, Focus Power pushed the issue as the two matched strides in a :28.1 third panel. Also pacing together around the far turn, Chumlee A’s lead was getting shorter but he continued to look strong on the point. Halfway down the lane the overland route had gotten to Focus Power but Don’tcallmefrancis, who had gotten the perfect two-hole trip the entire mile, popped into the passing lane and made a late bid. However Chumlee A had enough in the tank and hung on by a head in 1:54.2.

It was the second straight Open victory and fourth straight win at Batavia Downs and in northern hemisphere for Chumlee A ($3.60) who has been racing in the U.S. for just over a month. The 6-year-old gelded son of Somebeachsomewhere is owned by Mark Jakubik and Kim Asher, who also does the training.

It was a big night for trainer Kim Asher and driver Larry Stalbaum. Besides winning the feature with Chumlee A they also teamed up to win three other races during the night including the seventeenth win of 2017 for Saint William A and the twenty-first victory of the year for Quicksilvercandy A, who now moves back into a tie with Safe From Terror as the winningest Standardbred in North America.

Then after the tenth race, Asher and Stalbaum were honored in the winner’s circle as the top dash winning trainer and driver of the meet at Batavia Downs.

The staff and management of Batavia Downs would like to wish everyone a very happy Holiday season and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Racing resumes at the oldest lighted harness track in America in July of 2018.

Press Release:

Lady Cougar Cagers Have Three-Game Win Streak Snapped at NCCC Tourney

The Genesee Community College women’s basketball team had its three-game winning streak snapped at the Niagara County Community College Tournament Classic Dec. 16-17.

The Cougars dropped a pair of 11-point losses to George Brown Dec. 16 and Frederick Community College Dec. 17.

In the 71-60 loss to George Brown, Genesee had four players hit double-digits in points with TaLia Burgess leading the way with 20. The current National Junior College Athletic Association Region III Player of the Week also co-led the Cougars in points with Rosalyn Sealey in the 59-48 loss to Frederick.

Against George Brown, Sealey, Titilopemi Olusola, and Chevaneese Millington combined for 33 points with Sealey scoring 13, Olusola adding 10 and Millington registering 11 points to go with Burgess’ 20-point performance.

Millington came closest to a double-double with nine rebounds to co-lead the team with Estella Anderson. Sealey had a team-high four assists in a game where the Cougars deserved better after out-scoring the Huskies in two of the last three quarters after playing the first quarter even at 12 apiece.

Against Frederick, Sealey shared the team lead in three categories including points, rebounds and assists. The lone Cougar sophomore tied Burgess in points with 13, tied Anderson in rebounds with eight, and tied Sierra Chudy in assists with four.

Genesee closes out the semester with its best play of the season by going 3-2 in the last week.

Press Release:

Holmes Named USC Scholar All-American

Genesee Community College men’s soccer captain Glenn Holmes was named to the United Soccer Coaches Junior College Men’s Scholar All-America First Team Dec. 15 by the national chair of the USC Junior College Men’s Scholar All-America Committee, Chris Handy. Holmes will be honored by the UCS at its 71st convention in January 2018.

The 2017 National Junior College Athletic Association National Champion Cougars were co-captained by Holmes, who hails from Kildare, Ireland. The sports management major was just one of four overall junior college players who were recognized as first-team selections both on the field and in the classroom by the USC. At the junior college division-three level, he was just one of two to achieve the feat and the lone defensive player in the country.

Although known more for his stealth defensive play, Holmes’ offensive numbers were quite astonishing. He led all NJCAA defenders in points with 32 and goals with 13. In addition, the Genesee sophomore was the catalyst behind the team’s amazing run that ended with a 10-game winning streak and a 20-game unbeaten streak in bringing the Cougars its first national championship in soccer.

This is the third time Holmes has been honored this season as a first-team all-American. In addition to the two aforementioned USC All-American accolades, Holmes was also named to the NJCAA All-American squad as well.

Men’s Basketball Team Splits at NCCC Tournament

The Genesee Community College men’s basketball team improved its winning streak to five before having it snapped in Niagara County Community College’s tournament Dec. 15-16.

The Cougars started with a 99-87 win over Onondaga Community College Dec. 15 with their fifth-consecutive win. Although it was not another 100-plus point win, the victory allowed the Cougars to average 102 points over the course of those five-consecutive wins.

Current National Junior College Athletic Association Region III Player of the Week Brian Fobbs was on fire in both games scoring 36 points in the win over the Lazers and 30 points in the 92-81 loss to Henry Ford College, Dec. 16. In addition, Fobbs posted team-highs in rebounds and earned double-double performances in each contest with 15 boards against the Lazers and 16 against Henry Ford. In the latter game, Fobbs also recorded a pair of bocks, assists and steals.

Rahmel Thompson finished second in scoring in both contests to Fobbs with 44 total points. Thompson recorded 27 in the win and 17 in the loss. Joining Thompson with 17 points in the Henry Ford contest was Jarett Haines, while Caylen Williams added 15 points and a team-high three assists against the Hawks.

In addition to Fobbs and Thompson, two other Cougars recorded double-digit scoring performances with Williams adding 10 and Jaheem Page scoring 11 in the win against the Lazers. Williams registered a team-high seven assists and three steals against Onondaga.

The Cougars hit the semester break with a 9-4 overall record and 4-1 conference record.

Rochester man arrested for alleged assault with pistol and knife in LeRoy.
LeRoy Police arrested 49 year old Joseph Cavico Jr. of Rochester following a violent domestic disturbance.
The incident occurred just before one o’clock Saturday morning.
According to authorities Cavico allegedly struck the victim numerous times about the head after threatening them with both a pistol and a knife.
Cavico was charged with 3rd Degree Assault and 2nd Degree Menacing which are both class A-Misdemeanors.
During the initial investigation, a .357 Pistol was located and seized.
Cavico allegedly possessed the gun unlawfully as the serial number was removed.
He was additionally charged with the Class D-Felonies of Willful Defacement of a weapon and Criminal Possession of a Weapon which was Defaced for Concealment.
Cavico was committed to the Genesee County Jail without bail.
The investigation remains ongoing.

Guilty plea in East Main Street Stabbing case.
One of the two defendants accused of committing the near fatal stabbing on East Main Street in July, 30 year old JW Hardy has accepted charges in the case.
He pled guilty to a single count of Assault in the first degree, a Class C violent felony.
Hardy admitted to taking part in the violent knife attack and is facing 10 years in prison at sentencing on February 14.
The co-defendant in the case, 26 year old Anthony Spencer Jr, is due in court today with his case still pending.

T.F. Brown’s teams up with the Batavia Lions Club once again to host their annual Christmas Day Community Dinner.
Enjoy a full-course holiday dinner and a visit from Santa for free.
All members of the community are welcome however reservations are requested.
There are seating’s at noon and at 1 p.m. on Christmas Day,
Call Barb to make reservations, at 345-1000.

The Buffalo Bills have to win at least one more game this year to have a serious shot at breaking the NFL’s longest ongoing playoff drought.
Yesterday the Bills beat Miami 16 to 24 and are now eight and six for the season.
If the Bills win their next two games they have a 95 percent chance of moving on to the postseason.
If they only win one of their next two games their odds could be as good as a coin flip.
If they lose to both New England and Miami they still have a three percent chance.

Governor Cuomo is calling for tipped employees be paid at least minimum wage.
At the end of the year minimum wage Upstate goes to ten-dollars and 40-cents an hour but minimum wage for tipped employees will be substantially less.
Cuomo said there’s no reason for employers in certain industries to pay their employees less.
He’s having the Commissioner of Labor look into possibly ending these practices.

A car and a school bus carrying 24 students crash on Mount Morris-Nunda Road.
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the accident that happened late yesterday morning.
The driver of the car, identified only as a 33 year old woman, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Of the 24 students on the bus, three were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Deputies say bad weather and poor road conditions likely played a factor in the accident.

A Man pleads guilty to East Main Street Stabbing in Batavia.
30 year old JW Hardy pled guilty to a single count of Assault in the first degree, a Class C violent felony.
Hardy admitted to taking part in the near-fatal knife attack against a person on East Main Street last July. Hardy is facing 10 years in prison.

T.F. Brown’s and the Batavia Lions Club will again host their annual Christmas Day Community Dinner.
The dinner is free and open to all members of the community who want to enjoy a full-course holiday dinner and a visit from Santa.
There are two seatings Christmas Day, at noon and at 1 p.m.
To make reservations, call Barb at 345-1000.

The New Star Wars movie “The Last Jedi was shot on Kodak film made in Rochester. The movie opened this weekend.guilty plea
Three major Hollywood studios have signed multi-year contracts to buy film from Kodak.

(Photo courtesy of Paul White)

Press Release:

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

Longtime western New York horseman Jim McNeight reached a career milestone as he won his 1,000 race as a trainer.

McNeight was at 999 before his pacer Open Water finished second on Wednesday (Dec. 6) and was placed first through a disqualification. But McNeight made it official on Friday (Dec. 15) when his trotter Millbrook Hanover driven by his son Jim McNeight Jr., won easily in the snow to notch his 1,000th career victory.

McNeight got started in the business while in his teens and learned under the guidance of his father Ed McNeight Sr. He got his driver’s license in 1981 and became a go-to catch driver in western New York within a few years.

Focusing mainly on driving for the first part of his career, McNeight added training to his daily duties when he father retired in 1992 and since that time has been a mainstay at Batavia Downs and Buffalo Raceway ever since.

In June of 2016, McNeight was involved in a bad accident at Buffalo Raceway and came away with a severe back injury that sidelined him for months. After time off and extensive rehab, he has been able to resume jogging and training but his doctors will not clear him to race due to the possibility of further damage in the event of another racing incident.

So now McNeight focuses fully on the training end of his current stable of 10 and is a full time coach for his son who does all the driving now and is a rising star on the same circuit his father excelled on for so many years.

Jim McNeight’s 1,000th training win was the result of 6,450 starts that also saw him finish second 932 times and third another 919. All told his earnings have amounted to just under $3.5 million.

“It’s very special to reach a milestone like this but you can’t do it without good, faithful owners and I have been blessed to have three of them” said McNeight. “Mike Ventura, Mike Calimeri and Dave Sanlorenzo have backed me for over 20 years and made those 1,000 wins possible.”

Mike Ventura owns Millbrook Hanover.

For his driving career McNeight has 3,587 wins and over $13 million earned in purses.

(Photos courtesy of Paul White)

Press Release:

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

It was girl’s night out in a winter wonderland as snow squalls blew through Genesee County. The mare Lenny Mac beat the boys in the $10,000 Open trot and Sportsmuffler scored in the $10,000 distaff Open pacing feature at Batavia Downs on Friday night (Dec. 15).

In the week’s top trot, Lenny Mac came from off the pace to win handily, overcoming the field and the elements with the greatest of ease.

Empire Earl N (Larry Stalbaum) went right to the front and led to the half in 1:00.2. Lenny Mac (Ron Beback Jr.) then pulled first up from fifth and motored quickly alongside Empire Earl N, and then right by him by the time they hit the backside.

From there it was all Lenny Mac as she opened up four lengths at the three-quarters, six lengths at the top of the stretch and eight lengths when she hit the wire like a runaway train in 2:00.2, blowing up the tote board at 12-1.

It was the ninth win of the year for Lenny Mac ($27.40) and it padded her bank account to the amount of $54,077 for owner William Emmons and trainer James Clouser Jr.

In the fillies and mares Open pace, Sportsmuffler, who had recently gotten back to her winning ways after not finishing a race on Nov. 22, caught a strong front runner at the wire in a thriller.

Miss Irish Rose A (Larry Stalbaum) left for a familiar front-end position and led the field in post-position order for almost a half mile before Squeeze This (Billy Davis Jr.) pulled and attacked at that station in :59.2.

With Miss Irish Rose A still in command by two, the outer flow stalled and Sportsmuffler (Ray Fisher Jr.) tipped three-deep around and moved to within one length of the leader. The two maintained their positions around the far turn but when they hit the top of the lane, Sportsmuffler dug in and drove on to capture a half-length victory in 1:57.4 in a three-horse photo.

It was the eleventh win in 42 starts this year for Sportsmuffler ($7.80) who now has $59,149 on her card for 2017. LAV Racing Stable Inc. owns the 5-year-old Sportsmaster mare that is trained by Mike Carrubba.

Larry Stalbaum widened his dash win lead again scoring three victories on the night. That pushed him to 130 wins for the meet, now six ahead of Ray Fisher Jr. and 11 ahead of Drew Monti. Barring a monumental turn of events it would appear Stalbaum has his first Batavia Downs driving title just about wrapped up.

One more night of racing remains at Batavia Downs in 2017 and that is Saturday (Dec. 16) with post time is 6 p.m.

There will be a guaranteed $2,500 early Pick-5 pool tomorrow with a mandatory payout. The wager runs from race one to race five and is a 50-cent minimum bet.

A military helicopter makes an emergency landing in Java, Wyoming County.
The chopper made what the Army has called a precautionary landing just before 11yesterday morning near Pleasant Valley and Pee Dee Roads in Java.
The Army said the UH-60 Blackhawk was on a training flight from Rochester when it developed unspecified difficulties and landed.
North java volunteer firemen were sent to the scene. There were no serious injuries.

Man pleads guilty to East Main Street Stabbing in Batavia.
30 year old JW Hardy appeared in County Court yesterday where he accepted a plea agreement and entered a guilty plea to a single count of Assault in the first degree, a Class C violent felony.
Hardy admitted to taking part in the near-fatal knife attack against a person on East Main Street in July.
Under the terms of the plea deal Hardy faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for February 14.
Hardy’s co-defendant, 26 year old Anthony Spencer Jr, is due in court on Monday with his case still pending.

A Chautauqua County man pleads guilty to one count of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide in connection with a fatal crash last summer in Wyoming County.
29 year old Joshua Huntress of Mayville admitted he drove his car from a motel in Warsaw while doing a combination of drugs.
He crashed into a pair of motorcycles, killing the driver of one of them. He could be sentenced to 5 to 15 years.

An employee of the Arc of Genesee Orleans has been arrested for sexual abuse of a client.
39 year old Rome Santiago was arrested by the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd degree.
Santiago worked with disabled individuals served by the ARC.
Authorities said Santiago allegedly had inappropriate and unwanted contact with an client during outings in both Orleans and Genesee Counties.

The New Star Wars movie “The Last Jedi was shot on Kodak film made in Rochester. The movie opens this weekend.
Three major Hollywood studios have signed multi-year contracts to buy film from Kodak.