Judges and Police Conference Dinner Will Honor Judge Caruso, Chris Jacobs, Others

Court Justice Frank Caruso

It will be a very special night on Thursday (May 1) at Kloc's Grove in West Seneca when the Erie County Judges and Police Conference will bestow honors on several outstanding citizens for their service and present scholarships to three very special students to assist in their future education. The top citizen honorees this year are State Supreme Court Justice Frank Caruso who holds court in Niagara Falls; Chris Jacobs, a former Buffalo school board member who now serves as Erie County clerk; Police Officer Anthony Bartucca and Officer "Cody," his K-9 partner; and Ken and Kim Hansen of the Amanda Hansen Foundation as Citizens of the Year.

The 2014 scholarship winners are Maria Vazquez, Kyle T. Brandel, and Lukas R. Cetko. Judge Caruso, a native of Tonawanda and a former Town of Tonawanda judge, was appointed to the Supreme Court bench in 2007 and won election to a 14-year term the following year. This year will mark the second time the Conference has recognized him as Jurist of the Year, the first coming in 2006 while he served as an acting Buffalo City Court judge. He has been honored numerous times throughout his distinguished legal career.

Chris Jacobs, who will receive the public service award, is a former secretary of state in New York and twice ran as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. He is a member of the prominent Jacobs family of Buffalo which owns Delaware North and has been involved in numerous community activities, especially in the area of education.

Ken and Kim Hansen will be cited as citizens of the year. The Amanda Hansen Foundation's goal is to spread awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide in the home and was established in memory of Amanda Hansen, the teenager who passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning in 2009. The law enforcement work of police officers and their K-9 partners is the stuff of legend and the stories of their heroic work are most worthy of full recognition by the Conference which is dedicated to providing a forum of social exchange between the judiciary, law enforcement and all others engaged in related fields within the criminal justice system.

The public is invited to Thursday's special night at Kloc's Grove, 1245 Seneca Creek Rd., starting at 6 with a cash bar. Price is $35 per person, with dinner at 7 followed by the awards ceremony beginning at 8 p.m.