Somehow, we missed this story when it hit the Buffalo News a few days ago: A judge has rulled that Rev. Simon B. Howson, 42, the former rector of Batavia’s St. James Episcopal Church, can proceed with his lawsuit against the Diocese.

Howson claims that he was dismissed from his job after making a sexual harrassment claim against another priest.

Fleming on Friday said the job dispute involves attempts earlier this decade by an admitted homosexual Episcopalian priest now serving in Massachusetts, who used Howson as a spiritual adviser in Batavia, to have sex with Howson, who is heterosexual but unmarried.

Diocesan attorney Brendan P. Kelleher asked the judge to summarily dismiss Howson’s lawsuit on the claim that the dispute is a purely religious controversy to be handled only by church authorities. Fleming argued that Howson’s dispute involves the state Human Rights Law.

...

Howson was suspended in October 2004 because of allegations about stealing church funds, forging church documents and misrepresenting himself. In August 2007, the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York announced that his priestly rights were revoked and he was removed from the priesthood. Thursday, Fleming stressed to Michalek that all the allegations the bishop lodged against Howson were “false” and called the bishop’s actions against Howson “crazy, outrageous and disingenuous.” Fleming told the judge he personally deposed the admittedly homosexual priest recently in Massachusetts and confirmed that priest’s “sexual harassment” of his client.

Howson, "now a hospital chaplain with limited religious duties in the Fresno, Calif., area," is seeking $300,000 in restitution and reinstatment as a priest.

Saturday was a busy day for Habitat at Columbia Ave. in Batavia. The day started out with the regular  10 volunteers. The roof was raised last week and it was time to close up the walls to get ready for colder temps. Soon 5 volunteers ,students from RIT college arrived.Shortly after that 15 students from Houghton College arrived to volunteer. There was flooring to remove,flooring to install ,roofing to replace, and side walls to close up.It was a great day for renovation. A big thanks to all of the volunteers.Visit our web   www.geneseehabitat.com or call (585)345-1656

 The Attica boys soccer team had not won a Genesee Region League match, until Tuesday night.

The Blue Devils scored first then held on to beat visiting Lyndonville 3-0.

"We've been behind in almost every game and we were on a six game losing streak," Attica coach John Dickhut said. "It was nice to get one early on somebody."

Brandon Reiner scored eight minutes in on a header, off a pass by Andy Hagen to get the ball rolling.

Matt Sheffield then scored an unassisted goal eight minutes later.

"We have quite a few guys that can score," Dickhut said. "We had relied on Andy Hagen a lot early on, but just about anybody can put it in. A couple of games ago I changed my strategy and added another forward to boost the offense a bit."

Joe Wolak added an insurance goal late in the second half off a pass by Reiner to cap off the victory and give Attica a 1-5 league and 4-6 overall record.

Goalie Jacob Seiferth made 10 saves.

"We haven't helped him out too much this year," Dickhut said. "This was his first shutout of the year and he didn't have to work super-hard to get it. The defense really helped him out today."

Lyndonville falls to 2-4, 3-5-1.

Here it is, the second episode in our fun-time kitchen recipe series: Cooking with the Dairy Princess. This month, Anika Zuber shows us how to make a dynamite buffalo chicken wing dip. As she'll tell you: it's perfect for "any fun activities," including football parties.

For those of you who missed Episode One, here it is: Strawberry Sorbet Smoothie. Check back this time next month for the next episode.

Attention all you Muckdogs fans and supporters! if you haven't heard, Muckdogs championship t-shirts are available for purchase! Check out the website, muckdogs.com (direct link here: http://muckdogs.com/index.asp?orgid=67&storyid=315&sid=FD4A130C-FED5-441D-8157-560D0254FB2F), for more info!

Articles today in the Daily News on the Batavia City Council meeting, the fire Monday morning in South Byron and the sentencing of Robert Kirkup yesterday in county court were all featured on The Batavian yesterday. That being said, Joanne Beck put together a fine piece on the Council meeting from last night that includes a little more information than was in our post.

Beck takes as the theme of her article: neighborhood problems, taking her cue from several residents who spoke at the meeting. One resident spoke of the problems caused on some city streets as the result of truck traffic being diverted through residential neighborhoods during road construction. Another spoke of zoning concerns. While a third discussed the problem of absentee landlords and detrimental property conditions. Rather than make this article about these three separate issues, Beck finds the common thread: all three are asking for the same thing: a decent neighborhood.

Our question to that: What does it take to make a decent neighborhood, and when does city government know to step in and help out and when to stand back and let be? We're hoping to take a closer look at that question over the next couple weeks, so look for more on that.

In other news, the town of Batavia hired a third-year engineering student from the Rochester Institute of Technology for $10 an hour to help the town "catch up with project work that includes two water districts and the town's farmland protection plan." Joseph Neth, who lives on Wilkinson Road, will work up to 40 hours per week for 13 weeks for the town as part of "a cooperative effort with area colleges that was started by the town last year."

Six new members will be inducted to the Batavia Blue Devil Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 18 at Terry Hills Restaurant and Banquet Facility.

Nancy Viola worked in athletics and served as Athletic Director from 1981-1998, where 14 Batavia teams won Section 5 championships, including a New York State football title in 1981.

Viola was a chairperson for Section 5 girls basketball from 1975-1997 and NYS girls basketball from 1978-1982.

She earned the 1985 Jean Giambrone Rochester Press Radio Award, was inducted into the Section 5 basketball HOF in 2001 and is a member of the Rochester Red Wing Walk of Fame.

Jonathan Walton was a 1974 graduate after playing four years of varsity basketball and three years of both football and baseball, 

Earned all-county honors in both basketball and baseball. He earned second-team all-county honors when he helped the Batavia basketball team go 19-2 during his junior year.

Walton played baseball and basketball at Buffalo State College and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1974.

1964 graduate Douglas King played four years of football, bowling and baseball at Batavia and earned the Judd-Guinlock MVP award as a co-captain during his senior year.

King led the 1964 bowling team with a 194 scoring average.

Compiled an 11-3-2 record on the mound as a senior, tossing a no hitter, four one-hitters and four shutouts.

He was named the best male athlete at BHS in 1964 and was awarded the Mary Delbridge Citizenship award.

King was scouted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, N.Y. Yankees and San Francisco Giants.

Thomas Vincellos is a 1961 graduate and ran four years of cross country and track, and wrestled one season.

He was the Section 5 cross country champion as a senior and led Batavia to four straight Genesee-Wyoming team titles, setting the course record twice.

Vincellos was the best athlete of senior class and earned the Babe Ruth Sportsmanship award in 1961. He was also a three-time recipient of the Dominic Valle Cross Country MVP award.

1943 graduate Don Johnson played football and ran track for four years while playing baseball and basketball for three each.

He was awarded the 1943 Cope-Dowd Award for excellence in Track & Field and was named to the 1943 Section 5 basketball tournament all-star team.

Johnson earned a letter in four sports in his junior and senior years.

Ralph "Buddy" Houseknecht is a 1968 graduate and played three years of baseball and two years of football and basketball.

He won the Judd-Guinlock MVP award as captain of the football team as a senior. Was also a captain on the baseball team.

Houseknecht was named best BHS athlete in 1968 and received a scholarship to Edinboro State College in Pennsylvania where he played football.

Has been a long-time Batavia High School and Blue Devil Athletics supporter as member of Batavia Rotary Club and as President of Pepsi-Cola Batavia Inc.

The 7th Annual Induction Ceremony has a social hour beginning at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. dinner.

Tickets are available at the Athletic Directors office at Batavia High School. For more information you can call 585-343-2480 ex. 2003

 Well, it took three weeks but a local football player was finally named Section 5 Player of the Week.

Attica's Andy Ruddock rushed for 193 yards on 18 carries as the Blue Devils beat Elba/Byron-Bergen 40-6 Friday night and he earned the offensive honor for Class B.

Ruddock also had a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Attica is 2-1 and will be playing at Barker this Saturday.

If you're looking to save a few bucks, learn yoga and taekwondo or get some free grub, you may want to search out the Downtown Batavia Coupon Book. It looks like this:

Inside, you'll find deals for a free cup of java at Main Street Coffee, a week of classes at Cain's Taekwondo, a session of tai chi at Blue Pearl Yoga, $35 off a pair of glasses at Optique, and much much more. The booklets of coupons include more than 30 downtown businesses and cost $2 each. You can find them at these locations:

Adam Miller Toy & Bike, Angotti Beverage,  Carlson’s Studio, Charles Men’s Shop, Christiano Cellular, Continental School of Beauty, Grugnale’s, House of K, Main Street Coffee, Marchese Computer, Optique, The Cutting Shack, The Spa at Artemis, Valle Jewelers and Washington Towers.

Information from the Batavia Business Improvement District.

Christopher R. Waite, 19, of Oakfield, was charged with third-degree criminal trespass Monday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Waite is accused of entering a home on S. Pearl St. without the owner's permission. Deputies did not say why or how Waite entered the property.

Lincoln A. DeCoursey, 30, of Pavilion, was charged with a felony count of driving while intoxicated Monday, deputies said. DeCoursey was stopped and ticketed with speeding on Route 5 in the town of Stafford when deputies found him allegedly under the influence.

Timothy R. Howard, of Lockport, was charged with a felony count of third-degree criminal possession of marijuana Friday, state police said. Howard was allegedly found with nearly 11 ounces of marijuana following a traffic stop on Dysinger Road in the town of Lockport.

Theresa E. Silliman, 40, of 3207 Pratt Road, Batavia, was charged with second-degree harassment Thursday, deputies said. Silliman is accused of slapping another woman across the face during a verbal argument.

WBTA's Dan Fischer reports this morning that "faulty Halloween decorations" may have caused the fire that ripped through a South Byron home yesterday morning. Fire officials said yesterday that the home may be a total loss, estimating the damage at more than $50,000 already. No one was home at the time of the blaze at the property owned by Anthony Frongetta. A pet dog died in the fire.

Found on YouTube, two-video interview with Mike Laycock the VIP coordinator of the DWI Victim Impact Panel.

NOTE: If you are your community group do a video like this and want to share it with the community, you can upload your video to YouTube and then create your own blog post on The Batavian.

The town of Riga and the village of Churchville have developmed a comprehensive plan for the communities' future. That wouldn't be of much interest locally, accept for this bit from the D&C story:

One interesting proposal is the development of a trail system along the Westshore Railroad right of way. Riga and Churchville have teamed with Monroe County and Byron and Bergen in Genesee County in a joint effort to secure funding for a feasibility study. The new trail would begin at the western townline of Byron and end in the central business district of Churchville. The money for the study is coming from the Genesee Transportation Council, a regional organization that oversees the administration and funding of all federal aid transportation projects.

New trails are good.

Helen H. Berkeley, the widow of Frederick D. Berkeley III, the former CEO of Batavia-based Graham Corp. (AMEX: GHM) has donated $1 million to the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester.

The donation is intended to transform the gallery's antiquities collection into a showcase of Near and Middle Eastern treasures.

"I've traveled a lot in the Middle East," said Berkeley, former president of the museum's Gallery Council, a volunteer fundraising organization. "You could call me a frustrated archaeologist. I'm delighted to have the opportunity to help with this gallery."

Her gift is one of the largest that the museum has ever received from a single donor.

...

The future Berkeley Gallery of Ancient Art probably won't debut until November 2009, said chief curator Marjorie B. Searl. Most of the construction will take place next summer — new cabinetry, lighting, humidity controls and alterations to the ceiling and walls. The space already is heavily trafficked by Rochester students on field trips.

"We're looking to provide better interpretation for these ancient collections," said Searl. "In the new gallery, students will understand more about their significance. These user-friendly displays will be integrated into their school programming."

Helen H. Berkeley is a member of the Graham Corp. board of directors. 

From the D&C:

Lowe's will open its sixth area store in Batavia, Genesee County, on Oct. 18.

The new home-improvement store, at 4180 Veteran's Memorial Drive, has 117,000 square feet of retail space, with an adjacent garden center.

It's official! City Council this evening proclaimed September 22, 2008: Muckdogs Day. The 2008 NY-Penn League champions have since dispersed, many of the young players heading to St. Louis for the Cardinals post-season training camp, so that means no go on a parade for this year. But plans are already in the works to hold a victory parade when the champs return to Batavia in June.

We'll be sure to pass along more info as it becomes available.

In other City Council news...

A public hearing has been set for October 14 to discuss a local law that would abolish the city's Board of Ethics. If the action goes through, the city will in future refer all "ethics issues" to the county's Board of Ethics.

We asked both canidates for the 26th Congressional District for their positions on the Wall Street bail outs.

First to respond is Alice Kryzan. Her campaign sent over the following press release:

Amherst, NY – The financial markets have undergone a severe shock in the last few days. Risky speculation in a deregulated market led to a crash, bringing calls from Washington to have government bail out financial institutions. But where have these same voices been while millions of hardworking Americans have suffered through their own financial crises, facing stagnating wages and fewer jobs with rising housing and energy costs?

As she has from the beginning of her campaign, Alice Kryzan, Democratic Congressional Candidate for NY-26, decried this  ‘same old same old politic’, calling for political leaders to start putting the people’s interests first;

“We don’t need oil lobbyists writing our energy policy, insurance companies making our medical decisions, or financial institutions taking huge risks and then asking Americans to foot the bill. We can’t have two more years of these failed Bush policies, two more years of fewer jobs, stagnated wages and work sent overseas. We need someone ready to help us realize our future, not cling to the knee-jerk deregulation rhetoric of the past.” 

Alice called on Congress to act quickly to stabilize the market in order to ensure hardworking Americans don’t lose their homes or other assets. But she also insisted that any legislation include accountability measures to improve financial regulation and ensure this disaster is not repeated. Furthermore, taxpayers should receive their fair share of any profits these companies make after being bailed out, CEO compensation should be limited, and Congress should give homeowners the assistance they need to protect their homes. And, of course, any efforts to stabilize the market should have independent oversight to ensure the job is done right.

Alice expressed disappointment that so many politicians refuse to grapple with the serious issues facing our country;

“People are tired of candidates who only offer platitudes and quick fixes. Whether it’s offshore drilling that increases oil companies’ profits without lowering gas prices or writing a blank check to the financial market to protect CEO’s record salaries, the public has had enough. We need people with real solutions who we can trust to go to Washington and get results.”

We left off the final paragraph, which characterizes Republican Chris Lee's position. We'll let Chris Lee speak for himself, if he chooses to do so.

An "Unwanted Pill Collection" will be held on October 4, from 8:00am to noon at the Pavilion Fire Department on Route 19 for area residents to dispose of their old prescription drugs, according to the Daily News. Anyone from Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties can come by to make use of the service. You don't even have to get out of your car. Drive up, drop off the pills, and continue on your way.

Health officials hope that by offering folks the opportunity to safely dispose of old medications—they will be burned in an incinerator—we can keep the drugs from tainting the water supply or getting into the hands of people who should not be taking them.

In other news, the county's Building and Grounds department will now be known as Facilities Management.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

The fire broke out approx 8:30 am this morning after the couple left their home for work.  I spoke with Wendy Frongetta one of the owners of the home at 6323 East Main St. South Byron.  Wendy spoke of the loss of her Dog "Frank" he was the sweetest 7yr. old pit-bull that they loved who did not escape the fire.  Heavy fire damage claimed about 80 percent of the home.  No other injuries were reported and cause is yet to be determined pending investigation.  Many fire crews were on the scene putting out the blaze.

Ten people were charged with driving while intoxicated following a state police "saturation patrol" that was set up after the Buffalo Bills game on Sunday. Another 34 traffic tickets were passed out. Those who were charged with DWI include:

• Mark A. Nickerson, 26, of Dunkirk.
• Jeremy R. Tanner, 22, of Turtlepoint, Penn.
• Yebishawn L. Snyder, 33, of Salamanca.
• Erin R. Close, 26, of Buffalo.
• Carl A. Speck, 53, of Niagara Falls.
• Lisa A. Knowlton, 53, of Grand Island.
• Jason K. Kirchner, 26, of Niagara Falls.
• Lawrence M. Haberer III, 52, of Stowe, Ohio.
• Eric W. Kerwin, 32, of Strykersville.
• Christie L. Novak, 33 of Boston, N.Y.
  

Above information was provided in a published release from the state police.