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3 killed in collisions in Wilson, Byron

March 28, 2013, 4:12 am
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Three persons were killed in two separate crashes Wednesday on Western New York highways.

Two drivers from Wilson died after a three-vehicle collision just before 4 p.m. on Wilson-Burt Road in Niagara County, and a Clarendon man was killed when he was thrown from his pickup truck in a crash about 9 a.m. on Route 262 in Byron, Genesee County.

The names of the victims in the Niagara County crash were not immediately released. The victim in Genesee County was identified as Jerry Murray, 29.

Speed was being investigated as a factor in the three-vehicle crash on Wilson-Burt Road in Burt. “That distance [of the crash pattern] between 400 and 500 feet at the crash scene indicates the chance that there was speeding, plus the damage to the cars was catastrophic,” Niagara County Sheriff James R. Voutour said.

According to a preliminary investigation, an unidentified Ransomville man, in a large pickup truck, was driving eastbound in the 4800 block of Wilson-Burt Road, between Maple and North Beebe roads, when he rear-ended a tan Buick LeSabre, being driven by a Village of Wilson woman, causing her car to cross over into the westbound lane and roll over, cross a ditch and land several feet off the road, according to Voutour.

The Village of Wilson woman was removed from her car, but she died a short time later in Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane.

The force of the crash also caused the pickup to cross into the westbound lane, where it struck another vehicle, a blue four-door Saturn. The pickup struck the driver’s side of the westbound car, killing an unidentified Wilson man at the scene, said Voutour.

“It looked like he saw the accident coming at him and was pretty close to stopped when he was hit,” Voutour said.

While both cars were significantly damaged the ¾-ton pickup had only front-end damage, and the driver was conscious and able to walk away from the crash. He was treated at Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane for minor injuries, according to Voutour.

Voutour said sheriff investigators and the District Attorney’s Office were called to the hospital.

He said the crash was not alcohol-related, but investigators are looking at everything else.

“That’s why the accident investigation unit is here,” he said.

“If he was under the influence, this could be charged as a homicide, but speed alone is hard to charge.” he said. “But it’s not impossible. That’s why the [district attorney] is looking at this.”

Four volunteer fire departments, Wilson No. 1, South Wilson, Miller Hose and Olcott, assisted at the crash scene.

In the Genesee County crash, state police said Murray was killed when he was thrown from his pickup truck as it overturned after being struck by an SUV on Route 262 at Chapel Road.

Investigators said Murray was driving west on Route 262 when Terry Boyce, 57, of Alabama, turned left turn off Chapel Road and struck the pickup at the intersection.

Murray’s truck rolled over several times. He was declared dead at the scene from multiple injuries.

Boyce was issued a traffic ticket for failing to yield the right of way.



email: citydesk@buffnews.com
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Districts welcome boost in state aid

March 28, 2013, 5:03 am
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A funny thing happened after school superintendents looked at school aid data released Tuesday night by the State Legislature.

For the first time in five years, they started smiling. Some even sounded happy.

Under an agreement between Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the State Senate and Assembly, schools across the state will be getting 4.7 percent, or almost $1 billion, more in aid next year.

“It is great, great news,” said Lake Shore Superintendent James Przepasniak.

“Much better,” said James Knowles, interim superintendent of Niagara Wheatfield.

“It actually turned out better than we thought it would be,” said Jeffrey Petrus, assistant superintendent for business at Orchard Park.

“It’s very helpful during certainly what continues to be challenging fiscal times,” Williamsville Superintendent Scott Martzloff said.

The agreement reallocates some funding the governor had identified for education and adds more to that pot.

Almost all districts in the Erie Niagara region will see increases. Only East Aurora will get less money than last year, but the drop is less than the governor’s proposal released in January and is partly due to the district’s not receiving aid for converting to full-day kindergarten that it received last year.

Districts will see varying increases, from 1.4 percent in Wilson in Niagara County to 11.36 percent in Sloan, not including building aid. Buffalo’s aid will go up $15.65 million, or 3 percent.

Lake Shore was looking at a budget gap of $1.5 million before the agreement on aid was reached.

“Just Monday evening, the board discussed reductions of almost $900,000, which was staff, programs and cuts across the district in all areas,” Przepasniak said. “Now that discussion will be much different at our next budget work session.”

Anything that improves the situation is a positive, said Niagara Wheatfield’s Knowles, whose district had been grappling with a $1.4 million shortfall. He said the district has cut 91 positions in the last two years and is running out of places to look for money.

“Anytime you would fall short, you would have to look at what kinds of things are not mandated,” he said. “Look at staffing, all the things you don’t want to look at, because it’s people.”

In Orchard Park, the 4 percent increase in aid will pay for some unexpected increases in special education and health insurance costs. The district will be able to continue its current programs and will partially fund the cost of a girls hockey coach, the assistant superintendent for business said.

An anonymous donor contributed $2,500 for the coach’s stipend, but volunteers will still have raise about $10,000 for the program to continue, Petrus said.

Williamsville, Erie County’s largest suburban school district, was contemplating its largest tax levy increase in eight years, 4.26 percent, before the state aid figures were released.

That levy increase includes funding the installation of 98 more security cameras than originally planned next school year to avoid paying for them in the following year, which also looks to be a tight budget.

With an increase in aid of 2.27 percent, the district should be able to buy the cameras and lower the tax rate below 4 percent, the superintendent said.

“Certainly we’re sensitive to economic times faced by residents,” Martzloff said. “Even with this increase, we’re still not where we were in terms of state aid back in 2008.”

That was the year the foundation aid formula gave districts a large increase. Fiscal woes then forced the state to cut back.

Rick Timbs, executive director of the Statewide School Finance Consortium, said that even with an increase of more than 4 percent, schools are not back to the high aid mark.

“This is a temporary reprieve at best. They may not have to make as many cuts as they had planned,” he said. “When you look long term, it is nowhere near a panacea.”

Some of the extra money funneled to districts comes from the $203 million fiscal stabilization fund and money for education reform initiatives the governor proposed.

Timbs said those were to be one-time aid packages, and it’s not known if they will be included again next year.



email: bobrien@buffnews.com
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Pope’s simple lifestyle spurs debate about mansion

March 28, 2013, 5:16 am
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It is the signature home on one of Buffalo’s most exclusive streets, with stately architectural details such as Gothic arches, leaded glass windows, towering chimneys and an ornate stone balcony.

The sweeping mansion at 77 Oakland Place looks a lot like a castle, a home fit for royalty.

In fact, for the past 60 years it has been the primary home of the head of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, currently Bishop Richard J. Malone.

But with a new pope whose penchant for simple living has captured the world’s attention, local Catholics are again debating the merits of their bishop living in such a grand abode.

At 11,050 square feet and with nine bedrooms and six bathrooms, the bishop’s house was once the most valuable single-family residence in the city. It is currently assessed at $1.3 million – nearly 20 times the median value of owner-occupied homes in Buffalo.

As bishop of Portland, Maine, Malone put a 16-room mansion in an upscale city neighborhood on the market and bought a newer, smaller, suburban home for about $600,000.

Malone said he’s not currently considering selling the Oakland Place residence, where two other Buffalo priests also live.

“It works for us, and really it’s cost-effective," he said. “If we didn’t have that, I’d have to live some other place. We’d have to buy some other place. It would have to be large enough, because I really do believe in the principle of bringing people into the bishop’s home. It’s why it’s a big deal when people have an audience with the pope inside the apostolic palace, not just out in the square.”

The Buffalo News first broached the topic with the bishop in February, and then again following the election of Pope Francis, when it became apparent that the new pontiff’s simple lifestyle and emphasis on serving the poor were resonating worldwide.

The pope lived in a modest apartment during his time as archbishop of Buenos Aires, often rode the bus and wore an old pair of black shoes. In the first days of his papacy, he waded into the crowds of St. Peter’s Square, shunned the papal limousine and even called to Buenos Aires to check on the man who used to sell him newspapers.

And on Tuesday, a Vatican official confirmed that the pope would live in a guest house for priests rather than move into the elegant and spacious papal apartment where pontiffs have lived since 1903.

Malone acknowledged during the most recent interview that all bishops were being called to consider what simplicity means in their lives and ministries.

But he also maintained that the Oakland Place mansion plays a crucial role in the diocese’s ability to assist the poor.

“Part of the work of the diocese happens there, the meetings we have there regularly, including Catholic Charities,” Malone said. “Many of those are meetings that generate huge amounts of money to serve people in need.”

Besides, while the home might look like a castle from the outside, it isn’t luxurious inside, he added.

Nonetheless, Pope Francis may be charting a new course for church leaders who had become accustomed to chauffeured rides, palatial homes and other perks bestowed upon clergy.

Bishops won’t want to appear out of step with the pope, said Christopher M. Bellitto, an expert in church history and chairman of the history department at Kean University in New Jersey.

“Cuff-link Catholicism is out, and working in soup kitchens is in,” Bellitto said. “The question people in the pews are going to be asking is whether or not this is authentic.”

A few years ago, in the midst of dozens of Catholic church and school closings, some Catholics called upon former Bishop Edward U. Kmiec to sell the mansion as a gesture of solidarity with parishioners who gave up their houses of worship.

The Rev. Roy Herberger, pastor of Ss. Columba & Brigid Church, said he still believes such a move might help some Catholics heal from the emotional wounds of losing their churches.

“The church leaders are always asking the people to make sacrifices,” Herberger said. “I don’t see what would be wrong with the bishop and staff to make a statement that we’re ready to sacrifice as well.”

Herberger argues that the mansion hurts the image of diocesan leaders among Catholics who scrimp and save to support their parishes.

Getting rid of it, he said, “would help smooth over some of the negativity.”

Mark Zirnheld, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charity that serves the poor, said he, too, wondered if the diocese should consider alternatives to the bishop’s residence and perhaps even the diocese’s administrative offices, which are located on Main Street near the emerging Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.

“Maybe it’s time to take a look at these again, and maybe the catalyst is this change in Rome,” Zirnheld said.

Still, he added, any such moves would have to make sense and “benefit the diocese as not just a public-relations gesture.”

Some bishops have moved in recent years to sell opulent residences.

Shortly after being appointed to lead the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2007, Bishop David Zubik chose to forgo living in a Tudor mansion in favor of a two-bedroom apartment at a seminary.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston who received buzz in Rome as a possible contender for the papacy, used the proceeds of the sale of the archdiocesan residence in 2004 to help pay off claims for cases involving the sexual abuse of minors by clergy. O’Malley has since lived in a rectory.

Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon also resides in a rectory with other priests. Former Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk lived in an archdiocesan-owned apartment for more than two decades. But the archdiocese in 2009 purchased a $469,000 suburban home for his successor, current Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr.

Whether more bishops move to scale down their residences remains to be seen, but it has become an obvious question in light of Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s ascent to the throne of St. Peter.

One political cartoon following the election showed two cardinals standing at a bus stop, with a palace and a Mercedes in the background, both marked for sale, and one of the prelates saying to the other: Don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for him.

And even Malone admitted in the interview, “I have a feeling bishops around the world are meeting with journalists these days on a similar question.”

Some local Catholics said Malone could live in the St. Joseph Cathedral rectory or any number of other rectories around the diocese that have space. Functions could take place in closed churches or school buildings.

But Malone said the residence is much more than just living quarters.

“If we didn’t think of it primarily as a place to host all kinds of gatherings and events, I could certainly live in a smaller place. I don’t need a lot of space. That’s not the point. As long as I have my books and my little baby grand [piano], I’m OK,” said Malone.

The diocese purchased the house for about $50,000 in 1952, and it has been home to five bishops, as well as an integral part of “the ongoing life and work” of the diocese, the bishop said.

“I’ve learned over the years people enjoy coming into the home of the bishop, rather than into a restaurant or function room. So that’s really a major reason why we have the house,” he added.

Plenty of local Catholics have been encouraged by what they’ve seen and heard so far from Pope Francis.

Sister Johnice Rzadkiewicz, who runs the Response to Love Center, a Catholic nonprofit human services agency on the East Side, said even her non-Catholic clients have expressed enthusiasm for Pope Francis and his unadorned, down-to-earth manner.

“One of the people said, ‘He’s like us,’ Rzadkiewicz noted. “They like the idea that he didn’t have the red shoes, and he didn’t have the cape … They can identify, and many of them are not Catholic.”

Rzadkiewicz said she doesn’t fault Malone for living in the diocesan mansion.

“When I look at Bishop Malone, he’s got a beautiful spirit of poverty,” she said. “It doesn’t mean you have to sell everything. It’s the spirit of being poor. ... You can live in a mansion. You can live in a palace. That’s OK, as long as it doesn’t become your possession.”

Zirnheld, of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, said he sees in Pope Francis “a kindred spirit” who has “at the forefront of his daily work and daily outlook” a concern for people, especially the poor.

“He’s comfortable wearing that robe, but at the same time, he’s not using it to erect a barrier between you and him,” Zirnheld said. “The most recognizable face in the church seems to be a very approachable man.”

Zirnheld sees Francis stripping away the trappings of the church to focus on a core message of service – something he hopes “trickles down” throughout the church.

Malone, too, has been paying close attention to the pope. “I’m one of the many who are fascinated and intrigued by this man,” he said.

But the bishop suggested that simplifying one’s life isn’t necessarily as simple as moving to a smaller home – and it isn’t always apparent to onlookers, either.

“That’s really a deeply spiritual question. That goes deep because simplicity and humility are really more than anything else interior kinds of virtues and commitments and may show themselves externally in some cases and not in others,” he said.



email: jtokasz@buffnews.com
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National Fuel proposes freezing delivery rates

March 28, 2013, 7:12 am
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National Fuel Gas Co. is asking state regulators to freeze its delivery rates for three more years, while allowing it to earn a slightly higher return from its utility operations through a program that would split any earnings beyond its target with its customers.

The portion of customers’ bills for gas delivery would not change under the plan, but fluctuating prices of natural gas and usage could affect what people pay.

The proposal to the state Public Service Commission would extend National Fuel’s current delivery rates, which took effect in 2008, through May 2016, while also increasing the company’s program to replace some of the older equipment in its network of pipes that bring natural gas to customers throughout Western New York.

“It’s a proposal to basically extend flat delivery rates and put in an earnings-sharing proposal,” said Donna L. DeCarolis, a National Fuel vice president. “The bottom line would be ongoing rate stability.”

National Fuel last raised its rates more than five years ago, when a $1.8 million increase went into effect. The company said it has since reduced its labor costs by about $7.5 million through a 4 percent reduction in its workforce from its 2008 levels, while also paring its property tax bill by about $3 million by challenging its property assessments. Changes to its employee health benefits also have saved National Fuel $2.8 million.

“The only realistic means of avoiding a rate case is by increasing our productivity and simultaneously cutting expenses,” said Anna Marie Celino, president of National Fuel’s utility business.

While National Fuel’s delivery rates – which cover the company’s operating costs and profits – have been flat, the average annual bills paid by its customers have fallen by about 33 percent since 2008 because of the plunge in the price of natural gas, which is sold to the utility’s customers at cost.

The average National Fuel residential customer’s bill, adjusted to account for fluctuations in temperatures, has dropped by 38 percent – from $1,738 in 2008 to $1,075 last year – because of falling natural gas prices that have resulted from the surge in production from shale gas formations, such as the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.

“We’ve kept delivery rates flat, except for state-mandated tax increases, while commodity costs have dropped,” DeCarolis said.

Because of the drop in natural gas prices, the delivery costs consumers pay have become a bigger portion of their total bill. Delivery costs now account for 44 percent of an average customer’s total bill, up from 28 percent in 2008, when consumers were paying more than twice as much for the natural gas they used.

The proposal would allow National Fuel to earn a 9.96 percent return on equity, with any earnings beyond that split evenly between the company and its customers.

The earnings that accrue to customers would go into a fund that mainly would be used to offset the need for future rate increases. National Fuel’s current rate plan allows the utility to earn a 9.1 percent return on equity.

“It is more than fair for the company to retain some level of the benefits for its efforts,” National Fuel said in its filing with the PSC. “The utility only earns this incentive payment so long as it does a good job of reducing its operating costs or otherwise improves efficiencies.”

National Fuel, which has little opportunity to increase its utility revenues because of the shrinking Western New York population and because the vast majority of homes and businesses here already heat with natural gas, also is proposing that a portion of the earnings that could be shared with customers be used to subsidize extensions of its natural gas service to more remote portions of its service territory.

Those remote areas, where residents now heat with oil or propane, are too distant from National Fuel’s existing infrastructure to justify the expense of extending utility service to those areas without a subsidy, the company said.

It said it also would expand its investment in a program to accelerate its replacement of steel, iron and older plastic pipes and mains and other infrastructure. It also would focus more investment in flood-prone areas.

email: drobinson@buffnews.com
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Luna’s star about to rise higher as cub goes on display

March 28, 2013, 9:50 am
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You’ve seen her in The Buffalo News. You’ve even seen her on local and network television news shows.

Starting today, visitors to the Buffalo Zoo will be able to get an in-person look at the polar bear cub that was born in November.

Visitors will be able to view the now-famous cub, nicknamed Luna, during limited viewing hours every day from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the exotic domestic animals exhibit near the main entrance.

The cub’s keepers have determined that she is now big enough to be outside on exhibit for a short time. They will continue to observe her progress and extend her time outside as she develops.

Zoo staff expects plenty of interest in Luna’s debut.

“Since we announced her on the first [of March], we’ve heard from people via our Facebook page and in phone calls wanting to know when she’s going to be out in public for people to see,” said zoo spokeswoman Rachel Gottlieb.

To get Luna acclimated to the outdoors, zookeepers have been spending time with the cub each morning in the exhibit space prior to the zoo’s opening, Gottlieb said.

The cuddly cub, born last November, has helped spur contributions to the campaign for a new polar bear exhibit at the zoo, which is seeking $4 million in donations for the $14 million project.

The zoo will continue to display a live video feed of the cub on a closed-circuit television in the M&T Bank Rainforest Falls exhibit from 1 until 3 p.m. until further notice.

The cub’s schedule is subject to change, so any visitors who are interested in seeing her should call the zoo at 837-3900 to confirm when she will be on exhibit or on view via video feed.

The zoo also will continue to post regular updates on its Facebook page, Facebook.com/BuffaloZoo.



email: citydesk@buffnews.com
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Grease fire causes heavy damage in Falls

March 28, 2013, 3:21 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – A grease fire that got out of control was blamed for a blaze that caused $35,000 damage just after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday to a house at 2235 Cleveland Avenue.

David Thomas, who is in his 50s and was the only resident of the two-story house, escaped without injury, according to Daniel M. Ciszek, chief of fire prevention for the Niagara Falls Fire Department.

“It appears that [Thomas] started some grease on the stove and then went upstairs and either forgot about it or mistimed the heating of the grease,” Ciszek said. “The fire extended to the kitchen and into the dining and living room areas, as well as the exterior back wall.”

He said firefighters rescued one dog from the house

“The dog was smart enough to run into the basement to escape the smoke,” Ciszek said.

Damage was listed at $20,000 to the structure and $15,000 to the contents.

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Man found stopped in roadway charged with drunken driving

March 28, 2013, 3:31 pm
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PENDLETON – Niagara County sheriff deputies said they found a Lockport man parked at 7:22 p.m. Wednesday in the 5800 block of Donner Road with a green balloon in his hands and held up to his mouth. The driver told deputies the balloon contained nitrous oxide cartridges which the driver called “whip its.”

The driver, Matthew C. Pierce, 26, of Willow Street, was charged with driving while intoxicated and being parked or stopped on a highway.

Deputies said they asked about the balloon after Pierce told them he had stopped to do some whip its, filling the large balloon and inhaling nitrous oxide cartridges. Deputies said they confiscated 21 cartridges.

Pierce also admitted to having 2 or 3 drinks at a Lockport bar and was found with a blood alcohol level of 0.12 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
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Shot fired in an armed robbery in Falls

March 28, 2013, 3:36 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – The rash of armed robberies in the city continued with another armed robbery reported Wednesday. City detectives have been called to investigate nearly half a dozen armed robberies in the city over the past two months.

The owner of a Valero gas station and convenience store in the 1900 block of Ferry Avenue told police that just before 3:30 a.m. Wednesday two men wearing all black and ski masks, one of them armed with a semi-automatic handgun, entered the store and stole the cash register.

The owner said the armed man appeared to have tripped when he entered the store and fired one shot. Both men then picked up the cash register, which contained about $200, and fled west towards 19th Street.
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Man charged with three Niagara Falls cocaine deals

March 28, 2013, 6:02 pm
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LOCKPORT – A Town of Niagara man pleaded not guilty Thursday in Niagara County Court to an indictment charging him with three cocaine sales in November in Niagara Falls.

Jonathan D. Bersani, 21, of Miller Road, is charged with three counts each of third-degree criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance.

The alleged drug deals with a police informant occurred Nov. 15, 20 and 27, Assistant District Attorney Peter M. Wydysh said.
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Clarence man admits using forged pill prescription

March 28, 2013, 6:05 pm
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LOCKPORT – A man who tried to fill a forged prescription for painkillers at a Lockport pharmacy pleaded guilty to a felony Thursday.

Sameer K. Garg, 26, of Shimerville Road, Clarence, admitted to second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and was assigned by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. to the judicial diversion program of court-supervised drug treatment.

If Garg succeeds in treatment, his charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor with a probation sentence; otherwise, he could go to prison for as long as seven years.

Assistant District Attorney Peter M. Wydysh said Garg was unsuccessful in his Nov. 21 effort to obtain 180 tablets of oxycodone at the Rite Aid store at South Transit and High streets in Lockport.
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Teen burglar pleads guilty, faces 15-year sentence

March 28, 2013, 6:08 pm
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LOCKPORT – A 19-year-old man Niagara Falls man, linked to at least 10 house burglaries in Niagara Falls in December and January, pleaded guilty Thursday in Niagara County Court and will be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas will make the sentence official May 30 for Q’Nique McCrimmon of Ontario Avenue, who accepted a pre-indictment plea bargain to three counts of second-degree burglary.

According to Deputy District Attorney Doreen M. Hoffmann, McCrimmon’s usual practice was to kick in the front door of an unoccupied house. The plea deal required him to admit specifically to break-ins Dec. 31 on North Avenue, Jan. 3 on Michigan Avenue and Jan. 28 on Linwood Avenue. He also was ordered to pay $849 in restitution.

Farkas said that after the prison sentence is up, McCrimmon will face five years of post-release supervision.

McCrimmon said in court he was expelled from school in 10th grade because of truancy, and also was kicked out of Niagara Falls’ drug court program for not showing up. He leaves behind the unmarried mother of his small child.
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Five-day jail term wraps up burglary case

March 28, 2013, 6:13 pm
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LOCKPORT – A man who was placed on probation five years ago for the theft of a safe from a Niagara Falls home was sentenced Thursday to five days in jail to settle a charge of violating his probation.

State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. imposed the sentence on Joseph A. Tierney, 25, of the Falls, who admitted in September that he had failed to complete his time in the county work program. Kloch said he had grown tired of Tierney’s frequent requests to postpone the sentencing.

Tierney was placed on probation in the first place because he had helped prosecutors. He was a victim of an armed robbery that occurred when he was working as a food delivery man, and his testimony helped convict one of the robbers.
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Two well-loved Wilson residents mourned following crash

March 28, 2013, 7:36 pm
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WILSON – The town was mourning the loss of two longtime Wilson residents killed in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday in what authorities suspect may have been a speeding-related accident.

“The Wilson community has been so hard hit by loss. Both are such nice people. This is a real tragedy,” said Deputy Town Clerk Diane Muscoreil.

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Ronald Zauner, 69, and Cathy World, 58, who were both driving their own cars on Wilson Burt-Road when, according to preliminary investigation, the driver of a pickup rear-ended World’s vehicle, crossed over the lane and hit Zauner’s car.

That driver was identified as Fredrick Lederhouse, 58, of Ransomville.

No charges have been filed, but Niagara County Sheriff James R. Voutour told The Buffalo News that investigators are looking at speed as a possible factor in the crash.

Both Zauner and World were active, well-known and well-liked members of their community, according to residents who spoke to The News on Thursday.

“Cathy was always out walking around and saying hello to everybody,” said Town Clerk Wanda Burrows. “And Ron had been very involved in his Boy Scouts and in church ministry.”

Julie Godfrey, Wilson’s tax collector, said she knew both World and Zauner from church.

“Cathy was a sweet and wonderful girl. She always had a smile. She was the sweetest person you want to know,” said Godfrey.

Zauner and his wife, Judy, are the parents of two adults sons. Godfrey said her children and the Zauners’ children had grown up together in the Boy Scouts.

“He was very active in prison ministry, which some people shy away from, but he loved it,” Godfrey said.

“Just so many things I don’t know where to begin,” she said “He was just the greatest guy. He enjoyed life – always a smile on his face and a God bless you. He made you feel good.”

World, who was unmarried, cleaned houses for people and delivered the Retailer, according to Godfrey. She said World had a walking paper route in the village but was unsure if she had a motor route or had been delivering the weekly paper the day of the crash.

Deputies were called to the scene in the 4800 block of Wilson-Burt Road just before 4 p.m. Wednesday and found the two victims still in their vehicles and unconscious.

Zauner was removed from his vehicle but pronounced dead at the scene. World was removed from her vehicle by the Wilson Fire Department and transported to Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane, where she was pronounced dead.

Lederhouse was conscious at the scene and able to exit his vehicle. He was transported by the Olcott Fire Department to Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane, where he was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

No passengers were in any of the vehicles.

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Accident Investigation Unit spent most of the evening at the scene attempting to determine a cause of the crash.

No alcohol or drugs were involved, and weather does not appear to have been a factor, according to deputies at the scene.



email: nfischer@buffnews.com
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Animal cruelty charges dismissed against Lockport dog breeder

March 28, 2013, 7:43 pm
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TOWN OF LOCKPORT – Animal cruelty charges were dismissed Thursday in Town Court against a Lockport dog breeder charged last month after the SPCA of Niagara removed more than 60 Pomeranians from her house.

Ellouise Magrum, 50, of South Royal Parkway, pleaded guilty to a town code violation of an unpermitted use in her home and was fined $250 by Town Judge Raymond E. Schilling. He said she could have faced up to a $350 fine and six months in jail on the animal cruelty charges. An additional charge of endangering the welfare of a child was granted a six-month adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. Magrum has two teenage children.

Her attorney, George V.C. Muscato, said she never should have been charged with animal cruelty.

“Animal cruelty was an inappropriate charge which never should have been brought,” said Muscato.

He said Magrum was not guilty of any mistreatment, noting that a veterinarian from the SPCA of Niagara said the dogs were not in bad health and were well-fed.

He noted that Magrum was forced by the SPCA of Niagara to sign over all the dogs. She would have faced more severe charges if she hadn’t. He said she was not given the chance to make other arrangements.

Muscato told The Buffalo News after court that he will recommend that she fight the SPCA and attempt to have the dogs returned to her, despite the fact that they have already been adopted by new families.

“Her son was devastated. One of the dogs they took was the family pet. Her children loved this animal,” Muscato told the judge. “This woman is not guilty of any wrongdoing, and her family has paid a tremendous price.”

Muscato questioned the fees that the SPCA of Niagara charged for finding new homes for the Pomeranians, which he said were far above what they charge for regular adoptions.

Lockport Police Chief Lawrence Eggert, who is also an SPCA of Niagara board member and was at the scene when the dogs were removed spoke to The News after court and disputed charges that the adoption fees were inflated.

He said a team of volunteers had be called in to wash and clean the dogs, who were found covered in urine and feces. Costs for medical treatment were also factored in, he said.

“One dog had to have 21 teeth taken out, another dog had to have knee surgery. It’s just a lot of money,” Eggert said. “There was a staff of volunteers who spent three days cleaning and bathing them.”

Muscato told the judge that it was true Magrum should not have been raising these dogs in her house and that there was some smell, but he said it had not existed for more than a day or two.



email: nfischer@buffnews.com
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Community Health Assessment to begin in Niagara

March 28, 2013, 7:50 pm
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LOCKPORT – The Niagara County Health Department will post its state-mandated Community Health Assessment survey online next week.

Public Health Director Daniel J. Stapleton said at Thursday’s Board of Health meeting that the 16-question survey will appear at www.surveymonkey.com sometime next week and will be available for seven weeks.

Dr. Rashmi Bismark, resident at the University at Buffalo School of Public Health, helped compile the questionnaire.

“This is done every four years, so all counties will be doing it,” Bismark said.

The county will join forces with the hospitals within its borders to use the results to compile a community health improvement plan, Bismark added.

“It should take the average person 10 minutes to do,” Stapleton said. “Completely voluntary. Nothing identifying in any way. The closest we get is ZIP code.”

Printed copies of the survey also are expected to be available in hospital waiting rooms, churches and a variety of other locations. Also, there will be posters with tear-off strips at the bottom showing the Web address for the survey.

Stapleton said he expects to be allowed to email the survey to all county employees, too. “We’re hoping to get hundreds and hundreds of responses,” he said.

Stapleton said he will meet April 9 with the county’s hospital CEOs to discuss the survey and how it links up to the state Health Department’s “Prevention Agenda” by determining health care priority needs in the county.

On another topic, Stapleton told the board the security upgrades are coming in the Shaw Building, the 80-year-old structure at the Mount View campus in Lockport that hosts the headquarters of the Health and Mental Health departments.

County buildings and grounds employees will turn to the work after Memorial Day, once they’ve finished preparing the county parks for the season, Stapleton said.

The Shaw Building, originally built as a tuberculosis sanitarium, has about 16 access points on the ground floor, counting doors and windows. Many are unused and were originally installed to make it easier to take TB patients in and out.

Some will be blocked off, and others will have restricted access. Inside, some hallways will be blocked with doors to keep people from wandering through the building.

“This is not a mental health client thing. We don’t want anybody wandering around the building,” Stapleton said.

Doors separating Health from Mental Health will be locked, he said. Also, a new handicapped access ramp will be constructed at the Shaw Building, Stapleton said.



email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Assembly moves fast to pass budget

March 28, 2013, 9:02 pm
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ALBANY – The Assembly on Thursday night gave final passage to a $141.3 billion state budget.

The fiscal plan would fund a stadium rehabilitation project for the Buffalo Bills, keep aid to localities flat, sharply cut programs for developmentally disabled people, raise the minimum wage and authorize more than $2 billion in tax breaks over five years for the film and television industry doing work in New York.

The new fiscal plan also cuts funding for a variety of public health programs, suspends driver's licenses of people who owe the state at least $10,000 in back taxes and gives $350 checks to taxpayers with children and household incomes of between $40,000 and $300,000 – a check that will first be delivered in the fall of 2014 just prior to election day for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and lawmakers.

The Assembly finished passage of the budget shortly before midnight Thursday. This marks the third straight year the budget was adopted by the April 1 start of the new fiscal year.

But while timeliness was being hailed by Cuomo and lawmakers, fiscal watchdogs raised warning flags about a budget they say has misplaced priorities.

“This is not the new New York. This is the old New York,” said Assemblyman Tony Jordan, a Washington County Republican who railed against a budget that gives another $420 million in tax breaks in the coming year to the film and television industry, which is half of all the new business tax cuts approved in the 2013 budget.

E.J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative think tank, said there is a sharp rise in raids of state authority funds to help fund the budget's general fund, a $1 billion net increase in borrowing, a $2 billion net tax increase over the next five years, a pension borrowing plan for localities that he says merely pushes off current costs to future taxpayers and the “bald-face political move” of giving the $350 tax rebate checks during the fall 2014 elections.

He termed as “pretty indefensible'' the $54 million in state funds to help renovate the Buffalo Bills stadium to keep them in Western New York – a funding pot that has gained increasing criticism statewide as the budget was coming together over the past couple weeks.

The Cuomo administration dismissed the criticisms and said when the next two years are looked at – instead of the longer term outlook taken by watchdogs – there will be a net decrease in overall taxes of $2 billion.

The administration also has been touting that achieving another on-time budget helps to erase images of Albany as the center of dysfunction.

But the budget has been criticized by a number of groups that have been loyal to Cuomo in his first two years, notably the business community.

They say the budget's failure to end a surcharge as scheduled – instead of just phasing it out over the next three years – will drive up the electricity bills of businesses and consumers across the state.

In New York City, a business group is sharply critical of Cuomo agreeing to extend a tax on millionaires – a tax that was to have expired before Cuomo broke a campaign promise by raising it in December 2011.

That tax is worth $2 billion a year to Albany. And they say the three-stage minimum wage hike from $7.15 to $9 by January 2016 will kill jobs.

“I think it's great we did the minimum wage. It helps so many people,” countered Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat.

But the budget also will help cover the costs of the wage hike for businesses. The state will pay 75 cents per hour per eligible employee when the wage goes to $8 in January and then up to $1.35 per hour per employee by 2016 for firms paying the minimum wage to workers between the age of 16 and 19 who are students. Groups on both the left and right have sharply criticized the provision as a wasteful giveaway that could end the jobs of minimum wage earners who are older than 19.

The more than $140 billion budget includes a $1 billion increase for the state's public schools, taking the total state education aid pot to $20.8 billion. It includes $27 million for a new gun registration database as part of January's new gun-control law and maintains funding for about a dozen cities, including Buffalo, for a youth employment program.

The State Senate passed its final budget bill just before sunrise Wednesday.

The Assembly sought to squeeze its work into one day Thursday during and around Christian and Jewish holidays.



email: tprecious@buffnews.com
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Border authorities warn of busy weekend on bridges

March 28, 2013, 9:33 pm
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Travelers who plan to cross the international bridges on the Niagara Frontier during this busy holiday weekend should take steps to avoid unnecessary delays, U.S. Customs and Border Protection advises.

In addition to allowing extra time for crossing, travelers should make sure they have the proper documents – a valid passport, passport card, NEXUS card or enhanced driver’s license. They also can find current border traffic conditions and wait times at www.cbp.gov.
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Barnaby gets engagement ring back from ex-fiancee

March 29, 2013, 4:53 am
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Former Buffalo Sabre Matthew Barnaby has settled his lawsuit against his ex-fiancee, reclaiming the $50,000 diamond engagement ring he had given her.

Attorneys in the case said that the out-of-court settlement, agreed to last week, also saw former Miss Buffalo Amber L. Lindke, who broke off her live-in relationship with Barnaby in September, surrendering the title to Barnaby’s Cadillac Escalade.

In exchange, Barnaby paid Lindke $1,000, on top of a $5,000 payment he made to the 25-year-old Lockport woman when they broke up.

Lindke had said she was owed money for work she did on Barnaby’s website, www.mattbarnabyhockey.com.

“My client is reasonably satisfied the matter was resolved and she can get on with her life,” said George V.C. Muscato, her attorney.

“He wasn’t thrilled about having to pay,” said David H. Elibol, Barnaby’s attorney. “It was the practicality of the thing.”

Muscato said Barnaby paid his client $5,000 before the lawsuit was filed Jan. 28 in State Supreme Court in Niagara County. The suit demanded that Lindke return the ring and the vehicle title.

Elibol wouldn’t say why Barnaby paid Lindke $5,000 when they broke up.

“The details of that are really between them,” the lawyer said. “That payment occurred before George and I were even involved in the case.”

He said Lindke never sought money for her work on Barnaby’s website while the couple was together. “The only mention of payment came after the breakup of the relationship,” Elibol said.

“He’s got the ring back, and he got the title to the vehicle. That has value,” Elibol said.

The lawsuit said Barnaby, 39, gave Lindke the title to the Escalade in January 2012, the same month Lindke, a Canisius College graduate now doing marketing in the medical field, moved into Barnaby’s home.

That came in the wake of Barnaby’s conviction for driving while intoxicated the previous month in Clarence Town Court.

The guilty plea was entered eight days after Barnaby’s Dec. 5, 2011, arrest by an Erie County sheriff’s deputy, who said Barnaby was driving a Porsche Cayenne with a missing tire down Main Street.

The arrest cost Barnaby his job as an ESPN hockey analyst; he now coaches local youth hockey.

After Lindke moved out of Barnaby’s Clarence home, the Escalade stayed there, but Lindke held onto the title. The lawsuit said Barnaby had been paying for the insurance on the sport utility vehicle all along.

The case never went before a judge. Under New York law, the person who received an engagement ring is required to give it back if the relationship sours before marriage, regardless of whose actions might have caused the breakup.

The state’s Civil Rights Law allows either party to seek the return of any property transferred in contemplation of marriage, Joanna L. Grossman, a professor of family law at Hofstra University Law School, said in an email to The Buffalo News.

“Proof that the ring was given in honor of a birthday or holiday or for some combination of reasons can rebut the presumption that it must be returned, but most litigants who make this claim lose,” Grossman said.

Lindke told The News in January that Barnaby gave her the ring in June. Barnaby’s lawsuit said it happened in July.

“We settled it. The parties agreed to resolve their differences,” Muscato said. “It never should have gotten to this point.”



email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Falls athletic fields project likely to get Greenway funding

March 29, 2013, 3:37 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – At its March 19 meeting, the Niagara River Greenway Commission voted, 7-2, against an $11 million request for new and improved athletic fields at Niagara Falls public schools, but that vote probably won’t matter.

The commission is powerless when it comes to deciding how the $9 million a year in Greenway funds is spent, and Niagara County’s Host Communities Standing Committee is likely to approve the funding at its April 16 meeting.

“It seems like a great project,” said William L. Ross, chairman of the Niagara County Legislature and the county’s representative on the standing committee.

The Niagara Falls School District is one of the members of the committee, and Deputy Superintendent Mark Laurrie said the $22.1 million athletic project, half funded by the Greenway, has been the district’s goal ever since Niagara Power Project relicensing began to be discussed in the late 1990s.

Former Superintendent Carmen A. Granto made the project the district’s primary goal in negotiations over how to spend the money the New York Power Authority would eventually agree to contribute to the localities.

Last Sept. 25, Falls voters overwhelmingly supported a proposal to borrow up to $66.7 million for a variety of purposes. That package included the district’s $11.1 million share of the athletic project.

“We’re going to make it happen,” Laurrie said. “We think it’s going to be a world-class recreational facility. I believe it does meet the tenets of the Greenway plan.”

The centerpiece is a plan to build a new football field and two baseball diamonds behind Niagara Falls High School, all with artificial turf. The football and baseball teams would move out of city-owned Sal Maglie Stadium after the 2013-14 school year, which is when the district’s lease on the stadium expires anyway.

Laurrie said maintenance on the stadium costs the school district about $150,000 a year.

Mayor Paul A. Dyster, a Greenway Commission member, abstained from the March 19 vote on the athletic project.

“If the school district went forward, we would have to find someone else to operate the stadium,” Dyster said. “I’m in favor of the project, but if I had voted on the commission, I would have been voting on consistency with the Greenway plan. That would be the appearance of a conflict of interest. People would expect the mayor of the City of Niagara Falls to defend the [stadium] lease.”

The commission’s vote against the project came at the same meeting in which the commission received a report from University at Buffalo law professor Sam Magavern and a team of 17 law students that concluded that the notion of a system of linear parks and trails along the Niagara River is being buried by the commission’s powerlessness.

In Niagara County, Greenway funding is allowed not only along the river, but also in proximity to the Seaway and Niagara Wine trails and the Erie Canal. That makes almost the entire county eligible for Greenway money.

The Magavern report said the state law governing the Greenway should be changed to keep money along the river.

Laurrie said all the athletic projects in Niagara Falls are within a mile of the river, with work at LaSalle Prep School located only 450 feet away. Fields there and the current high school fields also are to be upgraded and expanded.



email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Somerset woman charged with welfare fraud

March 29, 2013, 3:59 pm
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SOMERSET – a Somerset woman has been arrested on a charge of welfare fraud, Niagara County Sheriff James R. Voutour said Friday.

Stephanie Wilson, 36, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree welfare fraud and offering a false instrument. She faces a Lockport City Court appearance at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Further information was unavailable.
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