Sherry R. Holcomb tells authorities she gambled it away at casinos. “I know it was wrong to spend his money and I’m sorry for doing it,” she says.

Editor’s note: This article written by Patrick Lakamp, reporter at The Buffalo News.

A Cortland County mother of a cancer-stricken son had her own idea of how to spend $15,000 in benefit money raised to help him fight his illness: she gambled it away.

Sherry R. Holcomb opened a bank account and deposited the money raised at a benefit, and even given in get-well cards, for Ryan O’Donnell, her 21-year-old son, according to prosecutors. Then she used ATM cards to withdraw the money to finance her gambling at casinos across the Northeast.

Holcomb, 46, 6 Garfield St., Cortland, pleaded guilty Wednesday before State Supreme Court Justice John L. Michalski and agreed to pay $15,000 in restitution. She and her defense lawyer, Daniel DuBois, declined comment after court.

Her written confession, however, spells out what she did with the money.

“I’ve spent the money at the Seneca Niagara Casino, Buffalo Creek Casino, Turning Stone Casino, Casino Niagara, Mohegan Sun casino , Harrah’s casino in New Jersey,” she wrote in her confession.

“I’m not sure how much of Ryan’s money I’ve gambled away but it is virtually all gone,” she said in her confession.

“I know it was wrong to spend his money and I’m sorry for doing it,” she said in the confession. “I’m ashamed of myself.”

O’Donnell has leukemia, and he continues to be treated at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo

Most of the money was raised at a benefit for the Ryan O’Donnell Fund in the Central New York, where the family lives, Sedita said.

Erie County prosecutors filed charges because Holcomb opened the bank account at a local First Niagara Bank branch.

Holcomb, who remains her son’s primary caregiver, was released without bail but was ordered to report to the State Police barracks in the Town of Boston to be processed.

Her crime “really offends me,” said Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III.

“This goes beyond your basic con, when it’s your own mother doing this,” Sedita said.

Bank officials alerted Sedita’s office when they noticed frequent ATM withdraws at ATMs at or near casinos, Sedita said.

“I would take the money out of ATMs either at or near the casinos I’ve gambled at,” she said in her confession.

In addition to the benefit proceeds she took, “I’ve also spent money that he received in get-well cards that were sent to him to the house,” she said.

The money in get-well cards totaled about $300.

Holcomb told investigators she opened a bank account in February after the benefit for her son. Two debit cards were issued for the bank account. She kept both of them. Her son has not ever used the debit cards.

“A lot of the money I took out of the bank I spent for personal reasons, mostly for gambling,” she said. “I’ve had a gambling addiction for the past six or seven years,” she wrote in her confession.

She could be sentenced to up to four years in prison when sentenced, which is scheduled for Nov. 16.

The 27-year-old victim suffered non-life threatening injuries

Syracuse, NY – Police are seeking a suspect who stabbed a Syracuse man this afternoon at Highland and Knaul Streets, and they've asked for the public's help.

Police were called shortly after 4:30 p.m. to a report a stabbing at Highland and Knaul Streets. When they arrived they found a 27-year-old Syracuse man who was stabbed in the torso during a fight with another man, police said.

The victim suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Upstate University Hospital by Rural Metro Ambulance, police said.

Police continue to interview witnesses and ask that anyone with information about the stabbing call the Criminal Investigation Division at 442-5222.

Mark Aldasch Sr. said if his son is allowed to try out for the varsity football team, he will drop his potential lawsuit against the Fulton school district.

Fulton, NY -- Mark Aldasch said all he wants is a chance for his son, Connor, to try out for the varsity football team.

“If he doesn’t make the team on his merit, OK,” Aldasch said. “But at least let him try out.”

Aldasch has filed three complaints with the Fulton school district. One says the varsity football coach, district athletic director and superintendent failed to allow Connor, 14, to try out for the varsity team. He believes this move violates the district’s policy stating “equal opportunity regardless of disability.”

Connor suffers from Tourette syndrome, which is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. Connor was captain of the junior varsity football team at G. Ray Bodley High School and a wrestler last year as a freshman, his father said.

A second complaint deals with athletic director Christopher Ells harassing Aldasch with calls to his house, Aldasch said. The third stems from Ells following Aldasch and his children into the bathroom during a football game at G. Ray Bodley High School Sept. 2, Aldasch said.

“When they start messing with me and my kids, I had to do something,” he said.

Superintendent William Lynch said Aldasch has filed three complaints. Normally, the school board turns complaints over to the superintendent for an investigation. But since Lynch is named in one of the complaints, the school district’s lawyer, Joseph Bufano, of DeWitt, is investigating.

“Tuesday evening, Mr. Bufano gave the board the status of his investigation,” Lynch said Wednesday. “The board hasn’t taken action and the law firm still is doing its investigation.”

Lynch would not comment further, because Aldasch has hired a lawyer.

Aldasch said he will file a lawsuit if Connor isn’t allowed to try out for the team. The suit will contend the district doesn’t follow its participation policy and has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“I want to give them the opportunity to handle this issue without going to court,” Aldasch said.

Aldasch said Connor, who plays running back on offense and corner back on defense, attended the summer football camp to increase his chances of being picked for the varsity team. But when boys were picked for the team, “they pulled up a kid that hadn’t gone to camp at all,” Aldasch said.

Aldasch said two assistant varsity coaches wanted Connor to try out for the team, but the varsity coach, Mike Conners, overruled them. When Aldasch asked why his son wasn’t getting a tryout, he said Conners responded, “I already have three or four disabled kids on my team. How many am I supposed to allow on the team?”

Mark Aldasch Jr., 17, Connor’s older brother who is a senior co-captain on the varsity football team, asked the school board at its Aug. 23 meeting to allow Connor to try out for the team. Mark Aldasch Sr. said, the next day Mark Jr. was put on academic probation, a warning that he must improve his grades in order to continue playing football.

The father said Mark Jr. is on the honor roll.

The district’s policy states officials would look at the last quarter of the previous school year for academic deficiencies for fall sports, Lynch said. Aldasch said Mark Jr. received a 64 in one of his classes that marking period, but “aced” the final and passed the course.

Contact Debra J. Groom at dgroom@syracuse.com, 470-3254 or 251-5586. 

The motorcyclist was transferred to Upstate University Hospital in extremely critical condition.

Town of Lenox, NY—State Route 13 has reopened after being closed for more than two hours this afternoon by an accident that sent a motorcyclist to Upstate University Hospital in extremely critical condition, Madison County Sheriff’s deputies said.

Here’s what deputies said happened:

Shortly before 3 p.m. a motorcycle driving south on Route 13 collided with a pickup truck near the intersection with State Route 31.

The motorcyclist sustained very critical injuries and was taken by Greater Lenox Ambulance to Oneida Healthcare where their trauma team was on standby. The motorcyclist was then transferred in extremely critical condition to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

The Canastota Fire-Rescue, New York State Police and Oneida National Police assisted at the scene.

State Route 13 was reopened to traffic at about 5:40 p.m.

La Festa Italiana will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday in downtown Syracuse.

Syracuse, NY – La Festa Italiana begins Friday in Syracuse, but some streets will close Thursday in advance of the downtown event.

The festa will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The city has set the following schedule for street closings.

• The lot adjacent to the KeyBank Building on Montgomery and East Washington Streets will be closed Thursday and reopen Monday.


• The 300 block of East Washington Street from Montgomery Street to South State Street will be closed from 7 a.m. Thursday through Monday morning.


• Montgomery Street, from East Washington Street to East Fayette Street, will be closed to traffic from 1 p.m. Thursday through Monday morning. Traffic heading south on Montgomery Street should take East Water Street to South State Street, and continue south on South State Street.


• Montgomery Street, from East Water Street to East Washington Street, will be closed at 6 p.m. Thursday through Monday morning. Motorists should take East Water Street to South State Street and continue south on South State Street.


• The 200 block of East Washington Street, east of the KeyBank drive-through, wil be closed at 6 p.m. on Thursday through Monday morning. The KeyBank ATM will remain open.

For those traveling east or west on Washington Street, East Fayette Street and East Water Street will be open.

The federal Farm Service Agency, which assesses farm damage, put preliminary estimates at $45 million in New York and $10 million in Vermont.

View full sizeJulie Lewis / The Daily Star, via APJoshua Johnson checks the condition of his soybeans, which were damaged by flooding from the Susquehanna River, at his family's Muddy River Farm in Otego, N.Y., on Tuesday. Johnson estimated he lost half of the soybean crop, as well as half of his corn.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The cascades of water from back-to-back tropical storms that swept across the Northeast washed away crops, farm buildings, soil and livestock, and left vegetable growers without fall produce to sell and dairy farmers hard pressed to feed their animals.

Then there were fires as sodden hay bales fermented, generating enough heat to spark blazes that destroyed seven barns in New York alone. “For farmers, dealing with weather comes with the territory. We’re used to it. But nothing like this,” said Peter Gregg of the New York Farm Bureau. “A lot of soils were washed away. To have it washed away and replaced by contaminated mud is a concern.”

The federal Farm Service Agency, which assesses farm damage, put preliminary estimates at $45 million in New York and $10 million in Vermont. Agency tallies will continue this week in the two states as well as Connecticut and Pennsylvania, where Tropical Storm Lee did much of the damage following Tropical Storm Irene.

Jim Barber, a farmer and the executive director of the FSA in New York, lost virtually all the fruit and vegetables he would usually sell at his popular market when the Schoharie Creek flooded the 200 acres he farms near Middleburgh. He plans to buy produce from other farmers for his store.

In Vermont, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Diane Bothfeld said any food for human consumption that was inundated by flood waters, even root crops such as potatoes, should have been destroyed. “There is a very big difference between food for human consumption and food for livestock consumption,” she said. “For human consumption, there is zero tolerance.”

She said farmers may be able to salvage most of the corn for cow feed, partly because rain that has fallen since Irene helped wash the stalks clean. Still Barber thinks dairy farmers might suffer perhaps more because of the feed loss coming just as milk prices were turning in their favor. When the storms hit, stands of feed corn were contaminated, alfalfa crops destroyed and piles of hay left molding and inedible.

Dan Dymes, who operates Altamont Country Values/Altamont Agway near Albany, said the amount of feed that is going to be needed over the next 18 months is “enormous.” He said it takes 1,000 pounds of grain at one feeding alone for 100 dairy cows, and that doesn’t include hay or silage.

Though most of Dymes’ customers are horse owners, he is helping to raise money for feed to be sent to dairy farms in the nearby Schoharie Valley. At his store Tuesday, 4 tons of grain contributed by the Virginia-based Southern States Cooperative was being unloaded, along with 1,000 pounds of milk replacer to feed calves separated from their mothers. In all, the shipment was valued at $3,000, Dymes said.

Dairy farmers expect to struggle through the next year, replacing lost feed corn with grain purchased on a market that’s seen costs rising along with the expense of fertilizer and fuel.

Two weeks out from the storms, the number of animals lost still was not clear.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo initially said “countless cows” had been swept away. Some farmers in hard-hit upstate New York were able to move their herds to farms on higher ground, however.

Barber of the FSA said, “Farmers are very willing to take in other cattle to keep them milked and fed until the home farms can be restored.”

Bothfeld said the number of animals lost in Vermont wasn’t as high as some feared, less than 100 head. In some places, animals headed for higher ground and are now coming back to the farm. Others can make it on their own until it gets cold and feed becomes scarce, she said.

There is one bright spot: Apples and other tree fruits weren’t ripe and ready to drop so suffered little damage from the tumultuous weather.

County Executive Joanie Mahoney's budget assumes the $547,000 needed will be raised by donations and charging patients. Watch video

View full sizeJohn Berry / The Post-Standard, 2010Sergeant Paul Brennan, supervisor of the Aviation Unit of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department, is shown with Air 1, the department's helicopter, in this photo from Oct. 6, 2010.

Syracuse, NY -- Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh isn’t happy that County Executive Joanie Mahoney’s proposed 2012 budget contains no tax dollars for Air-1, his department’s helicopter.

Walsh said Wednesday he plans to ask lawmakers to put funding for the chopper’s four pilots back into the budget. He estimated the salaries of the four pilots at $250,000, but administration officials said the figure would be $347,000 when benefits are included.

The budget Mahoney presented to the county Legislature Wednesday lists $347,000 for pilot pay and about $200,000 for fuel and maintenance costs associated with the helicopter. But it provides no county dollars to pay those costs. Instead, the budget assumes that the sheriff will raise all of the money for Air-1 through donations and by charging fees for transporting accident victims to hospitals.

The sheriff’s office has raised only $4,000 in donations for Air-1 through a non-profit foundation it formed earlier this year. The office also has applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for a commercial operator’s license, which would allow it to charge patients for medical transports.

Walsh said it’s doubtful his office can raise enough money from donations and fees to pay the entire cost of Air-1’s operations in 2012. So he will need county funding at least for the pilots’ salaries for the first year, he said. “We think we can significantly reduce the cost to taxpayers,” he said. “But there’s no way we can assume all of those costs.”

Walsh has successfully fought off attempts to eliminate funding for Air-1 in the past. He often has received the support of local volunteer fire departments, who say fast transports by the helicopter can mean the difference between life and death for seriously injured patients, especially in far away, rural areas of the county.

Legislature Chairman James Rhinehart, R-Skaneateles, said Wednesday the helicopter is a luxury the county can no longer afford. He said he has objected for years to the sheriff’s office practice of transporting victims of accidents in other counties — at no charge to those other counties. “A lot of people are fed up with the fact that we are providing free helicopter service to other counties,” he said.

Rhinehart said the Legislature will not provide any Air-1 funding to Walsh “if I have anything to say about it.”

Pat Kilmartin, R-Onondaga, chairman of the Legislature’s Public Safety Committee, said he also will not support the sheriff’s request. “The Legislature is fully expecting the sheriff’s office to secure grants and reimbursements to fund Air-1,” he said. “There’s a very high expectation of performance.”

Walsh said he considers the free medical transports that Air-1 provides to other counties to be no different than the mutual aid that fire departments from different counties provide to each other during major fires.

Rhinehart said that’s a bad analogy because no other nearby counties have helicopter to provide medical transports for Onondaga County if needed.

Contact Rick Moriarty at rmoriarty@syracuse.com or (315) 470-3148.

Superintendent Sharon Contreras told the school board Wednesday evening the district has the resources to keep its buildings safe without rehiring the six officers.

View full sizeMike Greenlar / The Post StandardKevin Ahern, president of the Syracuse Teachers Association, addresses the Syracuse school board regarding the district pulling police officers from the city's middle schools.

Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse middle schools that lost their police officers to budget cuts in the new school year will continue to go without them despite a request by the president of the Syracuse Teachers Association.

Syracuse school Superintendent Sharon Contreras told the school board Wednesday evening the district has the resources to keep its buildings safe without rehiring the six officers.

Contreras said she will monitor the schools, work closely with Police Chief Frank Fowler and will not hesitate to ask for the officers back if they are needed. The district pays for the police officers assigned to its schools.

A few minutes before Contreras addressed the board, Syracuse Teachers Association President Kevin Ahern asked it to consider bringing back the middle school officers.

The district has in place the procedures and resources it needs to keep its staff and students safe, Contreras said. The resources include, among other things, nine resource officers assigned to the high schools and those officers can respond to the middle schools if needed, she said.

It also has a uniformed, in-house security staff of 31, plus uniformed hall monitors, she said. None of the other big urban districts in the state outside New York City have resource officers in their middle schools, according to information Contreras provided to the board.

The six city police officers that were cut from the middle schools have been reassigned to community policing positions and part of their jobs include responding to the middle schools, Contreras said.

Syracuse Police Chief Frank briefly addressed the board to say school safety is very important to police department, the city and the mayor and that he met earlier that day with Contreras.

“Like the superintendent, we will continue to monitor the situation, we will continue to talk about it and we’ll make the decisions that are best for all concerned to keep our schools safe,” Fowler said.

No school district should have to struggle with the choice of whether to adequately staff its classrooms with teachers or to make schools safer by having resource officers, Ahern said. The schools need both of those things, and the community needs to work together to find a solution, he said.

“As I stated last year during the budget process, I think these positions will be sorely missed,” Ahern said. “I believe these officers not only contributed to a safer school environment but they also contributed to a more focused school culture and foster positive relationships with kids. The are part of the fabric of this school district and have been for many, many years. “

The district underwent huge staff cuts to balance this school year’s budget. Deputy Superintendent Jaime Alicea gave the school board the updated numbers at its meeting. The district cut 463.3 jobs, which forced 225 layoffs, Alicea said.

Contact Maureen Nolan at 470-2185 or mnolan@syracuse.com.

Motorcyclist Greg A. Risley, 47, of Canastota, is in critical condition at Upstate University Hospital.

Town of Lenox, NY – Madison County Sheriff's deputies have released the name of the motorcyclist critically injured this afternoon when his bike collided with a pickup truck just south of the intersection of State Routes 31 and 13 in the Town of Lenox.

Greg A. Risley, 47, of Canastota is in critical condition tonight in Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, deputies said.

The accident occurred shortly before 3 p.m. Here's what deputies said happened:

A 2000 Ford pickup truck driven by Donald Harp, 16, of Canastota, was traveling north on Route 13 near the intersection with Route 31 when it turned left into the entrance of a parking lot. The truck crossed into the path of a southbound 1979 Yamaha motorcycle driven by Risely.

The vehicles collided.

Greater Lenox Ambulance Service took Risley to Oneida Healthcare, where the trauma team was standing by. He was later transported to Upstate University Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.

Deputies issued Harp a ticket for failure to yield the right-of-way on a left turn.

State Route 13 was shutdown between Carter Road and Route 31 from about 3 p.m. to 5:40 p.m.

The Canastota Fire-Rescue, the New York State Police and the Oneida Nation Police assisted at the accident scene.

See our previous coverage.

Larry McCraney, 27, of Syracuse was stabbed during a fight with another man, police said.

Syracuse, NY – Police have identified the victim who was stabbed during a fight this afternoon in Syracuse as Larry McCraney, 27, of Syracuse.

Syracuse police were called shortly after 4:30 p.m. on a report of a stabbing at Highland and Knaul Streets. See our previous coverage.

When they arrived, police said they found McCraney, who had been stabbed in the torso during a fight with an unidentified man. McCraney was taken to Upstate University Hospital where his injury was determined to be non-life threatening, police said.

The incident is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to call the Syracuse Police Criminal Investigation Division at 442-5222.

The town has been criticized for continuing to spend money without any physical or visible progress being made on the project.

Cicero, NY -- The town of Cicero has spent $480,014 on the Brewerton Revitalization Project from 2006 to 2010, according to a firm hired by the town to audit the project.

The town has been criticized for continuing to spend money without any physical or visible progress being made on the project.

Michael Benn and Patrick Boyle from Benn & Company CPAs, PLLC, a Cicero firm, presented a draft report to the town board tonight. The firm was hired by the board in May to perform a financial audit on money spent on legal expenses for the project.

The goal of the revitalization project is to make over the waterfront in the hamlet of 3,453 people on Oneida River and Oneida Lake. The town planned to buy two properties near Route 11, tear down the buildings on them and expand Riverfront Park. The work would open up a view of the river and the park from Route 11, the main road through the community.

Earlier this year, Town Supervisor Judy Boyke and Town Councilor Jim Corl Jr. disagreed on the total cost of the project. Boyke said $865,528 has been spent on the project, while Corl said the town has spent $435,500 on it.

Corl claimed that Boyke counted money spent for other economic development projects. The two are disputing how much money the town paid in legal fees for the project.

Benn and Boyle found that the town spent a total of $1.4 million for all legal fees, retainer fees and other legal services from 2006 to 2009. Their report showed that $136,668 was spent on the project from 2006 to 2009 on legal fees that were charged outside of the lawyer’s retainer fee. The town spent $192,204 on non-legal fees for the project in 2006 to 2009 and an additional $151,142 in 2010 for a total of $480,014.

Boyle said tallying the costs was problematic because several invoices for legal services did not contain specific information.

“It was difficult to decipher what services were being paid for,” Boyle said. “We had to assume and use our professional opinions on several of the invoices.”

The report also showed that seven invoices were missing.

Benn and Boyle presented the audit at the meeting, but the board voted 3-2 not to release the report in its draft form to the public. The town’s supervisor and comptroller must sign the report before a final version will be issued.

The town voted 3-2 to hire Benn & Company in April.

Corl voted against the hiring of the firm because Benn was a former chairman of the Cicero Democratic Party. Corl said the audit was politically motivated.

Corl, a Republican, will face Boyke, a Democrat, in the race for town supervisor in November.

Cali West left this week to compete in Ireland. “ It’s kind of a really high honor,” she says.

John Berry / The Post-Standard, file photo, 2009 Cali West, of Syracuse, left Wednesday to represent the United States in the World Darts Federation 2011 World Cup. Here she takes aim during the 31st Annual Syracuse Open Steel Tip Dart Tournament in 2009.

Five weeks ago Cali West received a phone call that she had told herself to no longer expect.

The call was from the president of the American Dart Organization, telling her that she was selected to be one of two women representing the United States in the World Darts Federation 2011 World Cup.

West left Wednesday afternoon to fly to England to compete in a tournament before flying to Ireland for the World Cup.

The world championship is a first for the Syracuse resident who has been in dart competitions for 13 years.

“It’s kind of a really high honor and something that everyone strives for in dart world,” she said.

West, 43, was selected after a U.S. contender had been disqualified. Her opponents have had a year to train for the tournament, but West hasn’t been inactive. She has competed in over 25 tournaments this year. She also plays with a recreational steel tip dart league called the Salt City Dart League.

“Luckily it’s one of those things that once you know what you’re doing a little bit of practice goes a long way,” West said. “It kind of comes a little more natural once you get to this level.”

Getting selected to go to the World Cup is not the only good news for West. This year was her first year being sponsored by a major dart company. Voks, a U.S. dart company based in Cleveland, chose her as the single dart player that they sponsor.

In order to qualify for the World Cup, a player must either win a national tournament or compete in 12 different tournaments and rank first place. This year, West came in second at a national tournament and ranked second for her 12 finishes.

“I was so bummed that I had gotten so close and lost,” West said.

“It will be good preparation to play in that tournament first and then go to the World Cup,” West said.

The tournament runs from September 20 to the 24. The American Dart Organization pays for West’s trip to Ireland.

West is competing in the womens singles event. The format for the tournament is knock out rounds, meaning that West keeps playing until she loses a round. Each round takes approximately five minutes to play.

West hopes to place in the tournament.

“I’d love to win it. I don’t know if that’s possible or not,” West said. “I have the potential to do it. I’ve beaten the odds before. I’d really like to place high in the finish. Hopefully I can do that.”

Four people were killed one year ago when a Megabus hit the low railroad bridge on the road.

David Lassman / The Post-StandardNew York's Department of Transportation announced Wednesday it will ban commercial traffic on Onondaga Lake Parkway to try to stop trucks from striking this low railroad bridge.

Story by Marnie Eisenstadt and Jim O'Hara, Staff writers

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The state will ban all commercial vehicles from Onondaga Lake Parkway in response to a crash that killed four people a year ago when a Megabus slammed into a low railroad bridge there.

The ban — the effective date has not been decided — will reroute 3,000 vehicles a day to Old Liverpool Road, a state Department of Transportation official said.

The state also is installing a laser detection system that would be tripped by too-tall trucks heading toward the bridge. Warning signs would flash and the police would be dispatched by the county 911 center. That is expected to be up and running this fall.

The low bridge, owned by CSX, has long been a problem despite different signs and warning systems the state has tried over the years.

On Sept. 11, 2010, the driver of a Megabus got lost while enroute to the Regional Transportation Center and ended up on the nearby parkway. He was using a GPS system to try to find his way when he missed the warning signs and slammed the bus into the railroad bridge. The four people who died in the crash were sitting in the upper level of the double-decker bus.

That crash brought renewed attention to low-bridge problem, including a DOT report on potential changes and an Onondaga County grand jury investigation. The grand jury’s report was unsealed by a judge Wednesday. The ban was one of the recommendations contemplated in the report, but grand jurors said they needed more information about that option.

The state already had decided to take that step, said DOT spokesman William Reynolds.

Ellen M. Blalock / The Post-StandardMegabus driver John Tomaszewski, on right, stands next to his lawyer, Eric Jeschke, in Onondaga County Court on Wednesday Sept. 14, 2011 as Jeschke tries to persuade Judge Anthony Aloi that Tomaszewski should not be prosecuted for the Sept. 11, 2010 bus crash that killed four passengers.

Also on Wednesday, Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi ruled that the criminal case against the Megabus driver, John Tomaszewski, can go forward. He has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

The railroad bridge has a clearance of 10 feet, 9 inches. Most big trucks are 13 feet or higher. Between 1987 and 2010, 53 vehicles hit the bridge when drivers failed to notice they wouldn’t make it under, according to a state report. That’s an average of about two vehicles a year. The most recent was in July, when a Syracuse man driving a Goya tractor-trailer hit the bridge and drove away. In May, the bridge sheared off part of a Ryder rental truck when the driver failed to notice the warning signs for the low bridge.

The Megabus grand jury also recommended installing the laser device that the state is working on now; putting in better signs for the Regional Transportation Center, which is where the bus driver was headed when he got lost; new pavement markings that warn drivers of the upcoming low bridge; lowering the speed limit; and creating a pull-off lane so vehicles that are too tall can turn around.

The state has already put new low bridge signs on the pavement and installed closed-circuit cameras near the bridge that feed footage to a regional traffic management center, Reynolds said. The speed limit on sections of the parkway near the bridge has been reduced to 30 mph. The state recently installed rumble strips in the middle of the road to alert drivers who cross the center line.

Matt Millea, deputy county executive of physical services for Onondaga County, said the state has responded quickly to County Executive Joanie Mahoney’s call to do something to make the road safer. He said he was concerned, at first, about the plan to reroute commercial truck traffic, but the research the state conducted and the public comments the state received convinced him the impact would be manageable.

The state is considering other changes that would dramatically alter Onondaga Lake Parkway beginning in 2016.

According to a report by the state, one of the plans is to make the parkway a county-maintained road and turn Old Liverpool Road into state Route 370. According to the state DOT report, the state would turn Old Liverpool Road, which has two lanes in each direction, into a five-lane arterial road with a middle turning lane. State officials said that change would dramatically decrease truck traffic on the parkway and reduce bridge hits.

The state also suggested additional changes to Onondaga Lake Parkway to further limit truck traffic. The county should reduce the road from four lanes to two, and reduce the speed limit to 45 mph year-round. Currently, the road is 45 mph in the winter months. The extra space could be used for bike and pedestrian paths. The county could also make the parkway more winding, which would cause traffic to slow down.

Millea said the county needs to hear more about those options before signing on.

The state has rejected several other ideas the public asked it to consider. Those include something called headache bars, which are chains, bars or other devices that hang above the road and clang on the top of vehicles that are too high to make it under the bridge. Those are low-cost, the state report said, but not a good option for the parkway because of the speed limit. Headache bars are a good for roads with lower speeds.

But the option that seems the simplest — raising the bridge — is definitely out. The state has no control over CSX, which owns the bridge. Increasing the clearance could cost as much as $16 million. A new bridge would cost $20 million.

Contact Marnie Eisenstadt at meisenstadt@syracuse.com or 470-2246.

Fayetteville is considering a law that would require registration for all rental units.

View full sizeEllen M. Blalock / The Post-StandardBruce Coleman, the landlord of this property, 113 E. Genesee St. in the Village of Fayetteville, is opposed to the rental law the village board is trying to enact. His wife, Mary Coleman is on the board.

Fayetteville – like Syracuse, East Syracuse and Minoa — is considering adopting a law that would require registration of rental units and some in the village are not too happy about it.

Landlord Bruce Coleman, who owns rental property at 113 E. Genesee St., told village officials Monday night that only 10 percent of the rental properties cause problems, so it doesn’t make sense to impose this law on everyone.

“With this law you’re discriminating against renters,” said Coleman, who is on the village ‘s rental committee and married to village trustee Mary Coleman.

If there are 1,700 properties in the village and 500 of those are rentals, that means the other 1,200 or so single-family homes “could be falling-down shacks,” he said. “You’re holding renters to a higher standard,” he said.

Bruce Coleman and about 15 to 20 other residents attended a hearing before the village board. The village’s rental committee has been drafting the proposed law for nearly two years as officials notice an increase in the number of rental properties in the village.

Some said they think the proposed legislation is unnecessary and too broad, while others agreed there’s a need for regulations.

The proposed law would require landlords to pay a fee to register their units, ranging from $30 for one unit to $250 plus $15 per unit for complexes with more than 20 units. It also would call for voluntary, not mandatory, property inspections. Property owners/landlords could choose to complete an affidavit stating the property is in compliance with all codes in lieu of an inspection.

Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson said public comments will be reviewed by committee members, and the proposed law either modified or an alternative suggested in its place. Another public hearing may be held once the committee makes revisions, he said.
Olson said he’s open to suggestions.

“Doing nothing is not the answer,” he said. “The answer may not be this law, but we have to do something. We want to be proactive, not reactive.”

Landlord Richard Griffith said he favors the law overall, but thinks the proposed law is poorly written. “I don’t think this document would stand up in court,” he said.

Coleman said he’d like to see numbers on police, fire and code enforcement calls to rentals to help determine if the law us justified.

And Richard Howell suggested a voluntary landlord association might be the way to go. “We could actually shame someone into doing something about their property,” he said.

Fayetteville Fire Chief Paul Hildreth said people are migrating from the city of Syracuse, with 85 percent of East Syracuse now made up of renters.

“It’s going to keep expanding out, and being proactive with this is not a bad thing,” he said.

Trustee Mike Small said he wants to make sure the law is designed to ensure the safety of the structure being rented, and not as a “catch-all law” that tries to do too much.

Elizabeth Doran can be reached at edoran@syracuse.com or 470-3012

Today's opening ceremony honors educators who have made contributions to the local Hispanic community.

Editors' note: This story was written by contributing writer Greg Mason.

Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse-area community leaders, politicians and others will kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with an opening ceremony today at Delaware Academy.

Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, will be marked by a festival, music, lectures, art exhibits and other events.

The opening ceremony runs from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and will recognize educators who have made contributions to the local Hispanic community. The keynote speaker will be Sharon Contreras, Syracuse city schools superintendent.

The ceremony will honor the following: Syracuse University professor Alejandro Garcia; retired city school teacher Ofelia Anamaria; Westside Learning Center teacher Magaly Nobles; Le Moyne College professor Mario Saenz; and Sue D’Imperio, a volunteer at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse.

Here are other events planned for the month:

• 5 to 8 p.m., today: The Warehouse Gallery at Syracuse University, 350 W. Fayette St. Colorfornia: New Forms in West Coast Street Art. Displaying the works of Apex, Chor Boogie, Jet Martinez and Oscar Garces.
• Thursday through Oct. 29: Mundy Branch Library, 1204 S. Geddes St. Photography exhibit by Marilu Lopez Fretts. Photography by Syracusan Marilu Lopez Fretts, in Mundy Branch Library.
• 6 to 11 p.m., Friday: Holiday Inn, Electronics Parkway, Salina: Sabor Latino — A Taste of Latino Culture. Samples of Spanish beer, wine, liquor, food and live music.
• 8 p.m., Friday: ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave. Cuba to ’Cuse: Stories of My Life. A play by Jose Miguel Hernandez. Additional showings: 8 p.m. Oct. 7 and 2 p.m. Oct. 8, Community Folk Art Center, 805 E. Genesee St.
• 11:10 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., Sept. 21: Gordon Student Center-Cafe, Onondaga Community College, 4558 W. Seneca Turnpike. Brian Bromka’s 12-piece Latin Orchestra. Bromka is the founder of La Familia de la Salsa, one of New York state’s largest dance organizations.
• 5 p.m., Sept. 24: ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave. La Liga’s — Onondaga County’s Spanish Action League — youth dance troupe, La Joven Guardia del Teatro Latino, performs Latin-American dances.
• 7:30 p.m., Sept. 27: Panasci Chapel, Le Moyne College, 1419 Salt Springs Road. Spanish Nights. Featuring Jazz-fusion group Gabriel Riesco Project and poets Francisco Diaz de Castro, Aurora Luque and Jose Antonio Mesa Tore.
• 4:30 p.m., Sept. 28: Mundy Branch Library, 1204 S. Geddes St. Merengue Dance Workshop. Learn the merengue with local producer and musician Jorge Cuevas.
• 4 to 6 p.m., Sept. 28: La Casita Cultural Center, 109 Otisco St. Grand Opening of La Casita Cultural Center. New Latin American Cultural Center grand opening.
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Oct. 5: La Casita Cultural Center, 109 Otisco St.: third annual job fair.
• 2 p.m., Oct. 9: La Casita Cultural Center, 109 Otisco St.: Community Conversation: Freedom Revival. Tent, revival style discussion. Also, live music.
• Oct. 10 to Oct. 29: ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave.: La Maquina — The Machine. Art of Favianna Rodriguez.
• 3:30 p.m., Oct. 12: Mundy Branch Library, 1204 S. Geddes St.: Fiesta Latina for Kids. Stories crafts, snacks and music. Ages six and up.
• 8 p.m., Oct. 15: LeMoyne Manor, 629 Old Liverpool Road, Salina. Closing ceremony.

Jarl L. Brennan, 17, of 314 N. Sixth St., was charged with felony burglary and petit larceny, a misdemeanor.

Fulton, NY -- A Fulton resident woke up to a burglar standing in the living room around 1 a.m. Wednesday, police said.

Jarl L. Brennan, 17, of 314 N. Sixth St., was charged with felony burglary and attempted petit larceny, a misdemeanor. He was sent to the Oswego County jail with bail set at $15,000 cash or $25,000 bond.

Police said Brennan fled out the back door of the residence in the 1000 block of Cayuga Street. The resident gave authorities a clothing description of the burglar, and officers later located Brennan walking a few blocks away.

The resident was able to identify the suspect, police said.

Meyer saved 36 lives from an ambush in Afghanistan and the former Marine will collect the nation's highest military honor at the White House today.

U.S. Marines / AP PhotoIn this undated photo released by the U.S. Marines, Sgt. Dakota Meyer poses for a photo while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Ganjgal Village, Kunar province, Afghanistan.

From the Associated Press:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Dakota Meyer saved 36 lives from an ambush in Afghanistan and the former Marine will collect the nation's highest military honor at the White House on today. While he is receiving the Medal of Honor, Meyer's slain comrades will be memorialized in hometown ceremonies at his request.

His hero's moment was his darkest day. Meyer lost some of his best friends the morning of Sept. 8, 2009, in far-off Kunar Province.

"It's hard, it's ... you know ... getting recognized for the worst day of your life, so it's... it's a really tough thing," Meyer said, struggling for words.

Meyer charged through heavy insurgent gunfire on five death-defying trips in an armored Humvee to save 13 Marines and Army soldiers and another 23 Afghan troops pinned down by withering enemy fire. Meyer personally killed at least eight insurgents despite taking a shrapnel wound to one arm as he manned the gun turret of the Humvee and provided covering fire for the soldiers, according to the military.

President Barack Obama will bestow the medal at a White House ceremony. The two have also met privately, having a beer on a patio outside the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Read the full story

Related links:

» Before Medal of Honor, beer with Obama [CBS News]
» Video: Marine Corps Times interviews Dakota Meyer, Medal of Honor recipient [Military Times]

In other news:

» Two missing, several injured in Norwegian cruise ship fire [CNN]

» Police say man arrested in alleged rogue trading at UBS is 31-year-old Kweku Adoboli [Washington Post]

» Police: Human Remains Found in Search for Utah Mom [ABC News]

» WNY Democratic House members face remap worries after GOP win downstate [Buffalo News]

» Islamists’ growing sway raises questions for Libya [New York Times]

» Perry, Bachmann and the HPV debate [Los Angeles Times]

» Mid-East shuttle diplomacy ahead of Palestinian UN bid [BBC]

» Todd Palin slams 'The Rogue' and author Joe McGinniss [USA Today]

» N.C. man, woman face charges after 'sex date' ends in accidental kidnapping [CBS News]

Tonight is expected to drop into mid-40s, with nights remaining chilly for the near future.

Dennis Nett / The Post-StandardCentro bus passengers stay dry this morning as rain pelts the Syracuse area.

Syracuse, NY -- If the nights seem to be getting cooler, you're not imagining things.

Cool, rainy weather this morning will give way to clear skies this afternoon and overnight, sending the temperature plummeting into the mid-40s, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joanne LaBounty.

If it drops below 48 degrees, it'll be the coolest night so far this summer. The last time it reached 46 degrees was May 11, LaBounty said.

But the weekend will brush off the chilliness -- at least during the daylight hours. Clear skies and sun are expected to carry through Sunday, reaching from the mid-60s to 70 degrees.

But the nights will continue to be chilly, perhaps dropping into the low 40s on Friday and Saturday nights.

See today's hour-by-hour forecast and the five-day outlook.

He became a millionaire through a practice common to many other politicians over the years: taking part in profitable deals involving political friends and their businesses.

View full sizeCharles Dharapak / AP PhotoIn this Aug. 14, 2011, photo, Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry walks with his wife Anita as they arrive at the Black Hawk County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner in Waterloo, Iowa.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- When it comes to presidential candidates, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is a man of modest means.

Perry's state salary peaked at $150,000 after two decades as a public official, and he and his wife earned just over $2 million in wages between 1991 and 2009.

Perry is worth is at least $1.1 million. His chief Republican rival, businessman Mitt Romney, is worth more than $190 million.

Perry became a millionaire through a practice common to many other politicians over the years: taking part in profitable deals involving political friends and their businesses. He made more than $800,000 in 2007 reselling a resort development plot he had gotten from a Republican friend in the Legislature, and he cleared a quick $38,000 in 1995 by flipping stock in a company owned by one of his top campaign donors.

Private deals involving campaign supporters are widely criticized by government reformers as a potential form of backdoor donations or influence-buying. But they are often legal; in Perry's case, the Securities and Exchange Commission did not act on a complaint about his stock windfall.

"It's a familiar pattern to see politicians do well with their own personal investments," said Richard Hasen, an expert on money in politics at the University of California at Irvine School of Law, noting that wealthy people often like to cut favored politicians in on financial opportunities. "That's not to say that there is anything illegal or unethical about it, but it is how the world works."

Perry's financial record portrays a politician of humble rural beginnings who built both a career and comfortable lifestyle with the help of well-heeled supporters. His competition against far richer candidates will rely heavily on his deep network of conservative donors and fundraisers.

In all, Perry and his wife, Anita, who does consulting work for nonprofits, have earned about $2.4 million from real estate deals, stock trades, oil and gas leases and two trust funds. Mark Miner, a spokesman for the Perry campaign, said all of the governor's financial dealings have been legal, ethical and repeatedly reviewed.

"Everything was fully disclosed and it's been looked at numerous times and he filed the appropriate paperwork," Miner said.

However, even if perfectly legal, the transactions still raise questions about Perry's ethics, said Craig McDonald, the director of Texans for Public Justice, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign money and lobbying activities in Texas.

"It clearly looks like he got some special favors," MacDonald said. "Perry has a lifestyle that is probably beyond even his own million-dollar finances because people want to get close for many reasons to the governor of the state of Texas."

Perry placed the majority of his assets in blind trusts in 1996 to avoid questions about potential conflicts of interest. The governor's office declined to provide the current value of the trust, but in September 2009, spokeswoman Allison Castle said it was worth $896,000. Perry also owns a home in College Station valued at $243,900.

On the presidential campaign trail, Perry talks about his humble upbringing in Paint Creek, a West Texas town where he worked on the family cotton farm before getting into politics. In 1991, he reported that most of his income came from his $72,000 salary as state agriculture commissioner.

His assets grew as his political career advanced and he made a number of investments. The biggest single profit reported on Perry's tax forms was the sale of land at the Horseshoe Bay luxury development outside Austin. He purchased the lot for $314,770 in 2001 and sold it for $1,138,536 in 2007.

Perry acquired the land from his childhood friend Troy Fraser, a Republican state senator, after Perry had sold his house in Austin. "When he got the cash" from his house sale, "he bought it from me for the $300,000 (original purchase price) plus interest," Fraser said, adding that the governor's legal team reviewed the deal and his press office issued a news release on the day of the sale. "It was a very straightforward real estate transaction."

Six years later, Perry sold the property to one of the resort developer's business partners for a profit of $823,766, a transaction that fell outside the blind trust. A bank appraiser said the lot was worth the $1.1 million sale price, but the Burnet County tax appraisal office listed the land's value at only $600,000.

Perry and the others involved have repeatedly denied that the price was inflated, insisting the county tax appraiser's valuation was too low.

"It clearly looks like he got some special favors," MacDonald said. "The property was sold to him low, and a buyer was found to buy it from him at a very high price."

In another deal, Perry sold a 9.3-acre tract to computer magnate Michael Dell for nearly four times what he paid for it, with influential Texas lobbyist Mike Toomey representing Perry at the sale. Toomey later represented Merck and Co. in lobbying Texas to mandate an HPV vaccine for young girls to prevent cervical cancer.

The 9.3-acre West Austin property sold for $465,000 in 1995, when Perry was agriculture commissioner, and gave the Dell property access it needed to an adjacent municipal sewage district. Toomey had served as Perry's chief of staff and now runs the pro-Perry political action committee "Make Us Great Again."

Since Perry became governor, Dell and the Dell PAC have given his campaign $15,000.

Perry established his blind trust about six months after the stock deal that led Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, to request an investigation by the SEC.

On Jan. 13, 1995, Perry bought $38,875 worth of stock in Kinetic Concepts, a company owned by Jim Leininger, a San Antonio physician, conservative activist and major Perry campaign donor. Perry invested an additional $35,167 in the company on Jan. 24, 1996 - the same day he spoke at a luncheon that Leininger attended. Later that day, an investment firm bought 2.2 million shares of Kinetic Concepts stock, driving up its price. Perry sold his Kinetic Concepts holdings a month later for a $38,382 profit. Leininger and Perry acknowledged they spoke at the luncheon but denied discussing the stock.

Miner said all the transactions were legal and involved no insider information. The SEC did not act on the complaint and Leininger declined to comment. But the incident fueled Democratic Party complaints of what they call Perry's crony capitalism.

"There have been some transactions with what you can only call cronies that have benefited the governor," MacDonald said. "Mr. Leininger was his primary sugar daddy. The case could be made that he would not be governor today if not for a huge loan provided by Mr. Leininger in the closing days of the campaign for lieutenant governor."

Not all of Perry's investments have brought big returns. Perry has reported losing $308,496 from the holdings in his blind trusts from 1996 to 2009, a period that included the recent recession and stock market decline. He has requested an extension for filing his 2010 return.

Perry also owns interests in oil and gas dating back to 1991 and has earned $34,305 in royalties. The land partnership he holds with his father, J.R. Perry Co., has earned him $110,278.

Judging the business investments of politicians is difficult, said Hasen, who said public disclosure is the best recourse. "There could be things that cross the line, and (transparency) allows journalists, opposing candidates and the public to ferret out what might be an impermissible deal," he said.

Related links:

» HPV vaccine, Merck and Rick Perry's money [CNN]

» Perry talks about his faith, forsaking talk of jobs for a day [Washington Post]

» Perry Aides Concede Fundraising Edge to Romney [Fox News]

It's part of the park service's ongoing evaluation of the battlefield's archaeological resources.

STILLWATER, N.Y. (AP) — The National Park Service is planning to conduct a study of the lands of the Saratoga National Historical Park lands that lie within the Hudson River's flood plain.

The park, also known as the Saratoga Battlefield, is located along the river's west bank in the town of Stillwater, 20 miles north of Albany.

Park officials say the study will be conducted in late September and early October. It's part of the park service's ongoing evaluation of the battlefield's archaeological resources.

The park service is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that the dredging of PCB-contaminated sediment just upriver from the battlefield does minimal harm to historic artifacts along the Hudson's flood plain.

The American defeat of the British at Saratoga in 1777 is considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War.