New York state briefs

Police: Elmira man busted with 16 pounds of pot

Elmira, N.Y. - James A. Shope, 35, of Elmira, was charged Tuesday with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana, a Class C felony.

According to Elmira city police, Shope's vehicle was pulled over at approximately 12:45 p.m. Tuesday on West Church Street in Elmira, and 16 pounds of marijuana was found inside the vehicle.

The lady was a cop

IRONDEQUOIT -She has never been shot at or had to shoot anyone. She was able to avoid the rare homicide investigation because they all happened on her days off or when she was on vacation. But over the past 30 years, Irondequoit Police Sgt. Susan Erbland has investigated her share of rapes, domestic disturbances, fatal accidents and bank robberies.

"It has run the gamut," she said. "They all become a blur after a while."

Known simply as Sue to colleagues, she says her career has been everything she expected.

Erbland came a patrol officer with the Irondequoit Police Department Sept. 5, 1977. She retired effective Wednesday, March 19.

"I think 30 years is enough," said Erbland, who just turned 56. "I think it's a young officer's job today."

Heading into a workplace dominated by men wasn't as difficult as she had thought. "Sure, some of the older officers were skeptical, but whether you're a male or female, you have to prove you can be trusted and do the job. It's the same today," she said.

Overall, she has been an excellent police officer, said Police Chief Richard Boyan. Erbland received Officer of the Month honors in 2000 an 2001, unit citations in 2003 and 2004 and the Excellent Police Service Award in 2006. He promoted her from a road patrol officer to sergeant in February 2001.

Route 590 plan moves forward

IRONDEQUOIT - Officials Tuesday night took action that advances the Route 590 realignment and reconstruction project.

The project deals with an almost two-mile stretch of Route 590 from Titus Avenue north to Irondequoit Bay and Lake Ontario. It reduces traffic lanes from four to two and replaces four existing traffic signals with roundabouts.

First, the Town Board approved borrowing up to $3.5 million to pay the contractor to be hired later this spring. All of the money would be reimbursed from the about $14 million in state and federal dollars allotted for the project.

Comptroller John Bovenzi estimated that the $3.5 million bond will cost the town between $40,000 and $60,000 in interest and around $10,000 for closing costs, but that may be offset by interest earned on the money and from an account set aside for in-kind services provided by the town for the project.

Macedon goes for status quo

MACEDON - With the very fate of their village hanging in the balance, a record 519 voters turned out and proclaimed - by a slim margin - that they wanted to keep the village.

Clearly split down the middle, 257 voted to keep their village intact, while 228 wanted to dissolve it. Re-elected to stay at the helm, by an even slimmer margin, was 12-year incumbent Mayor James Hoteling, who won over his GOP opponent, David A. Kelly, by a mere 19 votes, 247 to 228, according to calculations by Village Clerk Lisa Davis.

According to Joyce Krebbecks at the Wayne County Board of Elections as of Tuesday afternoon, 19 absentee ballots had been received. They will be tallied March 20.

Mark McEwen, member of One Macedon - the grass-roots coalition in favor of dissolving the village - said he was disappointed by the outcome, adding that he's not sure what the group will do in the future. According to state law, residents must wait two years before they can petition for dissolution again.

"I'm frustrated - it was a tough loss," he said. "I thought it would go our way."

It was One Macedon that petitioned the board more than a year ago to put the question of dissolving the village into the hands of the people. Last April, a Dissolution Committee, representing a cross section of village and town residents, trustees and a member of One Macedon, began developing a study that showed a $204 annual savings if the village dissolved.

"We have to live by what the voters wanted," McEwen said. "I'm not sure what they've kept."

Ambulance corps at risk

IRONDEQUOIT - Does the community want a volunteer ambulance service? Or are citizens willing to be served by a commercial ambulance firm?

Those are among the questions being asked by town officials following last week's Irondequoit Volunteer Ambulance announcement that without changes in how it is funded, it may have to shut down.

Two important things the town does are public safety and public works, said Supervisor Mary Ellen Heyman at the Town Board's March 13 workshop, so she's taking the plight of the ambulance corps seriously.

Heyman has recommended that a volunteer commission be formed to look at emergency services for Irondequoit.