For over a month now, The Batavian has been following along as the 4-H Student Legislators learn the ropes of local government. We first met up at a meeting of the Genesee County Legislature. Then, we followed along when the interns got together at the Genesee County Nursing Home, where a couple dozen county government staffers came together to talk about what they do and take questions from the interns. Everyone from the sheriff to the clerk of the legislature was present.

In our first video, we asked the students their first impressions. In the next, we talked a bit about what they had learned so far. When we met up with them again yesterday, most of them had finished drafting up a resolution that they plan to present to their fellow legislators when they convene in a mock session of the Legislature in the spring. So we asked about their resolutions.

Before we get to that video, however, we're going to test your knowledge of local government. Chip Malone, the mastermind behind the student government program, devised a test of about a dozen questions—though some have several parts to them—all about local government. I took the test. I scored a 39 out of 46, which is about 86 percent. Not too bad, but not as well as I would have liked to have done. Although, I'm sure that if I were to take it again, I would ace it.

Now, we can't reprint the entire test here, because that would give away all of the answers for the students who have yet to take the test. Nevertheless, Chip has been kind enough to allow us to reprint a few of the questions.

First, allow me to brag that I knew every one of our federal and state representatives, including the incoming and outgoing state senators and congressmen. But those questions should be easy for anyone who has any eye on politics in the region. So, instead, I'll share a couple of the questions I found most difficult, and a few others that were a breeze—try to figure out which. Questions are reproduced exactly as they appear on the test.

1. Describe the special provision (rule) which provides opportunity to bring business before the (county) legislature which is not previously written on the agenda.

2. By law, a town is viewed as a:

a. Independent municipal corporation.

b. Involuntary subdivisions of the state, established to make state government more effective.

c. Any group of more than 2000 citizens who choose to start a local government and enact law.

3. What is weighted voting?

4. What are county governments' three top sources of revenue?

5. List the three committees of the county legislature.

We will post the answers Monday.

A few weeks ago, The Batavian reported on the search for Corrie Anderson, who was last seen in Jamestown on October 28. Earlier today, we picked up an article from the Jamestown Post-Journal that said police would be postponing the search for Anderson due to hazardous conditions.

We then received the following press release from the state police:

The Warren County Crime Stoppers in Pennsylvania and the Greater Buffalo Metropolitan Crime Stoppers are offering a cash reward for any information leading to the location of Corrie Anderson from Busti, New York.  Ms. Anderson was last since on October 28, 2008 leaving the Lake County Dodge in the City of Jamestown.  Ms. Anderson is described as a white female, 5’11’’ tall, 170 pounds, blonde shoulder length hair and green eyes.  She was last seen wearing black corduroy pants, a black leather jacket and glasses.  Ms. Anderson lives outside of Jamestown and is known to frequent Pennsylvania.  Her disappearance is considered suspicious and the New York State Police have had an ongoing investigation since she was reported missing.  A photo of Ms. Anderson is available on our website at www.troopers.state.ny.us.

Anyone in Pennsylvania with information may contact the Warren County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-83-CRIME; outside of Pennsylvania they may call (814) 728-3600.  The Greater Buffalo Crime Stoppers may be reached at (716) 856-5600.  Callers may remain anonymous.

New York State Police Senior Investigator Greg Holt will be available today at 2:00 P.M. at SP Jamestown for a press conference regarding the reward.  Please contact Trooper Gibbons at (716) 225-8712 if you plan to attend.

Some area auto dealers feel pretty strongly about the inevitability and justness of a Washington bailout of the nation's auto industry, according to the Daily News. John Pazamickas, sales manager for Orleans Ford-Mercury had this to say to Virginia Kropf:

"We believe the auto industry is the most important single manufacturing industry in the country, and for the government not to take seriously the livelihood of millions who derive income from that industry is shameful."

Shameful! That's emphatic. What do you think? Is Pazamickas in the right? He says that "for every job the auto industry creates, eight other jobs are affected." Is the auto industry so entwined with the fabric of the national economy that a bailout is "inevitable"?

In other news, the family whose apartment burned earlier this month—in the same fire that destroyed the post office in Pavilion—have found a new home. For now at least, they will be renting out a home on St. Mary's Street.

Youth sports are in the news again. This time, the Batavia Town Board got the pitch: a proposal to rent "15 acres of land at Batavia Turf Farms to give area youths and adult sports leagues a place to play." Folks who are interested are already entertaining visios of sports tournaments and a boost to tourism "by attracting teams and spectators from outside the local area."

The Batavia Town Board approved the $5.9 million budget for next year. That means the property tax rate in the town will remain at zero.

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

Batavia's City Police Department will host an informative session called: 'Deter, Detect, Defend: Learn more about identity theft' on December 11 at 7:00pm in the Batavia City Centre Board Room.

From the press release:

Identity theft occurs when your personal information is taken and used without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. It is a serious crime that can cost you time and money, destroy your credit, and ruin your good name.

The Batavia Police Department wants to help you learn how to protect yourself from identity theft at a free meeting that’s open to the public. Please join us to learn more about how to reduce your risk of identity theft, and what to do if you suspect that your identity has been stolen. 

Contact Det. Richard Schauf at (585) 345-6312 for more information.

David Gibbons, 29, of Medina, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana Wednesday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Gibbons was allegedly found in possession of the drug following a traffic stop in Elba.

Author Bill Kauffman was recently invited to Emory University in Atlanta by a fledgling student group known as the Young Americans for Liberty. The group had organized an event on the theme of "the importance of traditional American values in the 21st century."

Kauffman, it turned out, fit that bill quite well.

From an article in the Emory Wheel:

“I always felt an intense homesickness no matter where I was,” Kauffman said. “I knew that where I was from mattered.”

Kauffman said that those who are immobile and choose to remain in a specific region are overlooked in modern society.

“Love’s truest, greatest expression as I’ve come to believe is immobility,” he said.

Kauffman gives vent to the rootlessness of American politicians, such as President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, and he speaks of the divide between "televised America" and the rest of us. But all is not lost, he says.

Despite the problems that have arisen due to the lack of connection between Americans and their hometowns, Kauffman said he believes the situation can be fixed.

“Our country is lost, adrift, but there are sign posts pointing us home,” he said. “We have to rediscover the places in which we live. It is our task to find the sacred in the everyday.”

There's an especially poignant bell struck here... for me, at least. With little seeming compunction, Kauffman digs trenches—between the nomadic and the sedentary, "the televised" and "the rest of us" (which latter are also equated with the sedentary), and the various subdivisions of the rooted and the rootless—and he takes sides. At least since Cain and Abel, and especially during the Exodus, the nomadic and the sedentary have been set at odds with one another. Be it divine or secular, judgment pronounced on the nomad is often fueled by the prejudice and derision of the sedentary—witness the gypsies of Europe. A person or people are exiled as a means of protecting the homeland, as a preservation of the sanctity of the species, as it were. Yet the nomad is no such simple fiend. The Wandering Jew is both cast out and yet forever among us: at home in his homelessness. Nomadism, itself, is both a curse and the mark of blessedness in the Old Testament.

It's fascinating to hear Kauffman take up this ancient dialectic, which for sure is a prominent theme in his writings, if I'm allowed to comment on the little that I have so far read. Yet, it's also unsettling that the author is so decisive on adopting the directives of one to the exclusion of the other. I'm all for the shades of grey, myself. I see the extremes and opposites more as determiners of one another than exclusive entities. If I were to adopt Kauffman's language, I would have to call myself "rooted-rootless"—home is a plural: I have the one made by my family, several made by friends, even a few I notched out myself on the headboard of my own lonesome living in distant geographies...

But back to what's poignant here... despite Kauffman's own trench-digging, he is an incurable champion of the particular. Listen to what he says: "It is our task to find the sacred in the everyday." While I shy away from the language of the sacrosanct, I follow the same sort of maxim. It's why I call myself "a voracious pursuer of the idiosyncratic," which amounts to the same thing: a belief that the individual things, if they can be found—like so much else in this world of ours, they, too, have become rare and endangered—will speak the most to us about ourselves and the general things we only purport to understand.

So... really, all this to ask: Where do you fall? Are you an inveterate caster of deep and permanent roots? Are you a nomad? Do you feel like me: a "rooted-rootless" believer in the pluralism of home? Do you distrust one side or the other? What of the everyday? Is it sacred or does it just get in the way?

The unemployment rate for Genesee County is up more than a percentage point from this time last year, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. The October jobless rate for the county was figured at 5.2 percent this year, as compared with 4.1 percent, last year. Those figures are released by the State Department of Labor, one of whose economists said that the last time the figures for the region were this high, the country was coming out of the recession of the early 1990s.

M&T Bank is on tap to receive $600 million from the federal government, in exchange for "preferred stock" that will go to the Treasury Department, as part of the nationwide "rescue plan."

(Update): The Buffalo News today includes a comprehensive article on M&T's option to join the "bailout." Especially interesting are these few lines:

M&T had been hesitant to sign on because executives feel the bank is perfectly healthy, hasn’t cut back on lending in its communities, and doesn’t need the extra capital. The bank currently has $6.4 billion in capital, giving it a “Tier 1” capital ratio of 7.34 percent, which exceeds the highest regulatory minimums.

That’s why the bank requested only the minimum of $600 million, as opposed to the maximum of about $1.73 billion that it could have sought, based on its asset size.

Come again? The bank is doing perfectly fine, doesn't need the money, but figured: 'Hey, what the heck, if they're giving it out, we might as well take some.'

Earlier this month, eleven 4-Hers from around the county showed off their nutritional and culinary know-how at the Produced in New York State Food Contest that was held at Martin's Super Food Store in Batavia. In front of a panel of judges, each participant prepared a recipe using at least one cup of fruits, vegetables or meat that had been produced here in the Empire State.

Jennifer Lichtenthal showed us how to make her cabbage casserole, a recipe passed down from her grandmother. She also informed us that New York, if you can believe it, is the number one cabbage growing state in the country. Enjoy! 

For the complete recipe, or for any of the other ten recipes featured at the Produced in New York State Food Contest, please contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension at (585) 343-3040.

There's still no word yet on when Pontillo's restaurant in Batavia will reopen its dining room, and no one has yet come forward with information regarding the lawsuit between the brothers. But some good news has graced the sign in the parking lot out front of the Main Street restaurant:

Also, a truck has been spotted out back of the restaurant on several occasions over the past week. Renovations?

I thought it was kind of odd that since creating the "Housing" section on the web site, no listings had been posted yet, but I just figured I needed to get out and talk to some real estate agents.

A little while ago while I stopped into a local real estate office and the agents there were very happy to see me -- they had been having trouble getting their listings published.

It turns out, there was a misconfiguration I couldn't see with my superuser login.  It's fixed now.

So for any agents or landlords who have tried to post listings in the past, please try again. Click here to add a listing.

Please click here to download the complete schedule of events for this season's Christmas in the City celebration in downtown Batavia. Choristers, bands and other musicians will be touring downtown shops throughout the evening. Find out who will be where and when. Don't forget: the Batavia Concert Band and In Jest will be taking the stage in the Batavia City Centre.

Pavilion residents do not yet have a replacement for their post office which was destroyed by fire several weeks ago, according to the Daily News. But those who used to pick up their mail from the post office at least have an alternative to driving to Le Roy to get it. Residents can now head to the Pavilion Fire Hall once a day in the middle of the day to pick up mail.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service told the Daily that there has not yet been a decision on whether to replace the post office in Pavilion. About 200 people pick up their mail direct from the post office.

In other news, Genesee County legislators continue to make the changes needed to the county budget to keep the tax rate from increasing. An original budget proposal called for a tax rate of $10.23 per $1,000 of assessed value. Legislators hope to reduce that to the current rate of $9.82 per $1,000.

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

There's really no way to say it better than Pat Weissend:

"Traffic backed up at the New York State Thruway as thousands of people from the east and the west merged to spend their entertainment dollars on a chance to make more money at one of Genesee County’s best known attractions: Batavia Downs!"

So it is that Batavia Downs lands at No. 8 in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of the 25 Things That Made Genesee County Famous.

The harness racing track is the oldest night-time pari-mutuel track in North America. Batavia Downs opened on Friday, September 20, 1940 at 8:20 p.m. to an estimated crowd of 2,500 people. A total of $629 was bet on the first race and over $10,000 was bet on the first card.  

The opening was the dream of William “Lefty” Goldberg and others who, as shareholders in the Monroe - Genesee Breeders Association, chose Batavia because of its location between Rochester and Buffalo. The Monroe - Genesee Breeders Association is the predecessor of the Monroe - Genesee Racing Association. The first season’s attendance was 25,935 people with a total bet of $310,790. The following year, attendance and betting doubled, but racing was canceled in 1942 and 1943 due to travel restrictions and gas rationings.

For more on Batavia Downs and how it made us famous, be sure to visit the Holland Land Office Museum Web site. While your there, you can peruse the other 17 "things" that have so far made the list. You can also hit up the museum's blog to leave your two cents about what should make it in the top seven.

Image of Batavia Downs program from 1964 taken from the Holland Land Office Museum Web site.

The search for a missing Sheldon man continues today, ten days after he went missing. Michael Shiltz, 42, was last seen on November 10, and his truck was found parked by a trail off of Humphrey Road in Sheldon two days later. Read our post from yesterday for more details.

In other news, Holiday Valley, the Ellicottville ski resort, is opening today. Thanks to the several feet of lake-effect snow over the past week, and more on the way, this will mark the third earliest opening of the resort in its 50-year history.

WBKW broadcast a follow up report last night about a bloody t-shirt found in a Batavia church dumpster last March.

Det. Sgt. Patrick Corona of the Batavia Police department said a DNA test of the blood revealed the victim was male, and because of the style of the shirt they believe the owner was either a teen-ager or a young man.

He believes the male could now be dead or a victim of a serious assault. Police have not found a connection to any assaults or missing people in the area. They also found no connection with the state's DNA bank. But he says the National Center For Missing And Exploited Children will conduct further DNA tests to create a better profile of the potential victim.

The police are asking anybody with information about this situation are encouraged to call Batavia Police at (585) 345-6444 or confidential tips can be left at (585) 345-6370. The police can also be contacted confidential via this web form.

The web site Missing Kids has more information.

This video should speak for itself. We visited the candy kitchen at Oliver's earlier this week as they were preparing their final batch of ribbon candy. Many thanks to Robert Pacer, Oliver's general manager, for narrating the process for us. Enjoy!

Congratulations to the Daily News, which announced in the paper today that the publication will go online sometime "within the next few weeks." Keep an eye on the print version to find out when the site will be ready for viewing. Folks can log on at www.thedailynewsonline.com once the site is up and running.

In other news, reporter Joanne Beck wrote an article on the fire last night at an Oak Street home. That news was featured early this morning on WBTA and picked up a little while later by The Batavian.

Fire hydrants will be flushed starting at 9:30am, Tuesday, in the area of Pearl Street, Meadowcrest Drive, River Street and Ellicott Street.

Author Bill Kauffman was honored with the Andrew Eiseman Writers Award in nonfiction for his book Look Homeward America: In Search of Reactionary Radicals. The award is given out by the University of Rochester. For more on the award, visit the University of Rochester Web site.

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

State police out of Warsaw are searching for a Sheldon man who went missing nearly ten days ago. Michael F. Shiltz, 42, was last seen by his family on November 10. From the state police:

Sources close to the family reported locating Shiltz’s truck parked on a trail off of Humphrey Road in the Town of Sheldon and at the time concluded he may have been hunting in the area. This discovery was made on November 12.

His family grew worried after they failed to hear from him, and his vehicle remained parked at that same trail. Shiltz also failed to appear for a court matter on November 10 in the Sheldon Town Court.

State Police have canvassed and searched the area surrounding the location of the vehicle and found no signs of foul play. This search consisted of State Police Aviation, search dogs, and troopers, as well as State Forest Rangers and other volunteers who knew Mr. Shiltz.

Troopers are asking that anybody with information or who may have a possible sighting to contact the State Police at 585-344-6200. Michael Shiltz is described as being 5’08” tall – Blue Eyes – Blondish Hair – Thin Build – Moustache without a beard. He may be wearing a black cowboy hat and boots.

Joshua M. White, 20, of Bethany, was charged with a felony count of third-degree robbery and a felony count of second-degree assault for an incident that occurred on October 28, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. White is accused of seriously injuring someone in a fight in the Batavia Motel parking lot in the town of Batavia, after which he allegedly stole property from the victim. An order of protection was issued for the victim. White was not sent to jail. He is expected to reappear in court at a later date.

Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle featured a reader-submitted story yesterday about the Le Roy-based Mighty St. Joe's Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps, which is readying its members for the upcoming season. The crew met for their first practice a little over a week ago. Here's what Bob Wielgosz had to say about that first session:

There were over 80 current, former and new members in attendance, including 44 brass, 20 percussion and several from the guard and staff. The corps, one of the oldest alumni corps in existence, is in its 19th year of performing this coming year, including events like indoor and outdoor concerts, parades and field shows.

It turns out the group got its start here in Batavia more than three-quarters of a century ago.

St. Joseph's Drum Corps was originally founded in 1931 by the Rev. T. Bernard Kelly, pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Batavia. In 1951, corps graduates formed St. Joseph's Drum Corps Association Inc. to perpetuate Father Kelly's work. The corps operated as a parade corps till the late 1950s when it became a field competition corps. During the 1960s, Mighty St. Joe's rose to National and International prominence, consistently ranking among the top ten junior corps in the country. In top level competition, St. Joe's placed as high as fourth in National and second in World Open competition. Unfortunately, 1971 was the final year of competition for the pride of Batavia.

Anyone can join the crew. You only have to be at least 21 years old. Check out their Web site for more information, show times and how to join.

A fire broke out in a second floor bedroom at 66 Oak Street in Batavia around 9:30pm last night, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Two people were home at the time, but both escaped without injury. A preliminary investigation has termed the cause accidental, and damage to the home has been estimated at around $15,000.

Fischer picked up a choice piece of audio from our state Assemblyman, Steve Hawley, who spoke of the wastefulness of yesterday's special session of the state Legislature and called for more productive meetings to cut spending in the future. Hawley called the episode "politics as usual," a phrase which—not to knock Hawley at all—was surely used by countless grandstanding state politicians yesterday, all of whom, in the end, are themselves the practitioners of the usual. Are any of these representatives, in truth, practicing the unusual: in other words, getting things done, not shrinking in fear from the collective threats of special interest lobbyists, not wasting time and (our) money on circus shows that masquerade as fruitful discourse? Fischer tells us that yesterday's special session cost the taxpayers in excess of $100,000. Listening in on another news report last night, I heard that the costs were related mostly to overtime and travel expenses for the legislators! How's that for politics as usual. Or irony. Call it what you will.

Bryan Anderson and Mike Hoy handled most of the scoring duties for the Batavia boys basketball team last season. Both are gone to graduation, meaning the returning players will have big voids to fill if the Blue Devils are going to win an eighth-straight Monroe County League Division III title and compete for a sectional crown.

 The good news is, coach Buddy Brasky's squad is filled with talented guards with a ton of experience. And those players were motivated during the offseason by last year's 53-52 loss to Pittsford Sutherland in the sectional finals.

It was unique last season when the four Hoy brothers played varsity - and started a game together - but the squad is down to three Hoy boys.

Andrew is the a sophomore and the youngest, and has the most responsibility of the three. He is expected to be the team's top scoring option.  He was the third option last year as a freshman, and did a good job. He's the go-to guy now.

Marcus returns to run the point. He stepped into that role last season and was one of the best defensive players Batavia had on its roster. 

Marcus is expected to be the floor general, playing solid defense and distributing the basketball. His scoring role will also increase this season.

Robert is listed at 5-foot-11 and will be a starting forward, cleaning up rebounds and attempting to battle some of the giants playing for the large school teams the Blue Devils get during the season.

Batavia does have size issues. 

Joe Schlossel is the other returning forward and is listed at just 6-foot-2.

Dakota Irvin (6-foot-3), Mike Lee (6-2), Josh Budlong (6-1) and Kris Bartz (6-2) are the other big men for Batavia.

Adam Pettinella returns as a shooting guard  and will be expected to help out with the scoring. He didn't start last season, but saw quality minutes in some critical situations during the season.

Donovan Rolle will see action as a guard and forward.

Batavia finished 20-4 last season and should be considered one of the favorites in Division III. The Blue Devils are playing a brutal regular season schedule, including tipping things off at the Olean Tournament, with two defending state champions in the tournament.