Here are today's Veterans Day services in Genesee County:

• 9 a.m.: Vietnam Veterans service, Genesee County Park, Bethany
• 10 a.m.: Flagpole ceremony, Batavia V.A.
• 11:30 a.m.: UMMC Veterans Day ceremony, Jerome Center on Bank Street.
• 12:30 p.m.: Reception for veterans at GCC, Conable Building
• 1 p.m.: Salute to the American Flag at GCC

After finishing some business I had to conduct in Le Roy on Wednesday afternoon, I took some time to walk around the east side of the village and make some pictures. Le Roy is such a photogenic village I've been thinking I need to get out there more often for these sorts of expeditions.

Here's three pictures from Wednesday's walk about.

In Victor on Wednesday night, the Le Roy Girls Volleyball Team kept its undefeated season alive with a 3 games to 2 win over Skaneateles.

With the Oatkan Knights' first-ever regional playoff win, the girls will now meet an opponent to be determined Saturday at Genesee Community College. The match starts at noon.

Two days ago, the Lady Knights clinched the team's third Section V title.

"The season has been unbelievable," said eight-year Head Coach Kelly Tyler. "I never would have put the expectation on the kids for what they have achieved."

Le Roy (21-0) put away Skaneateles (17-2) 25-11, 19-25, 20-25, 25-18 and 25-12.

Tyler said she isn't really sure what happened in the second and third games when the girls seemed to lose focus, but they pulled back together in the final two games. By the fifth and final game, Skaneateles appeared completely over-matched and unsure how to respond. At one point in the final game, Le Roy had an 11-1 lead.

"It came down to teamwork and a real desire to win," Tyler said. "They don’t like to lose."

Sophomore Katlyn Tyler had 42 kills and 17 digs and Megan Condidorio had 38 assists, 31 digs and 4 aces for Le Roy. Chelsie Hixenbaugh had 32 digs.

The winner Saturday will move on to the state championships.

(NOTE: Hopefully, we'll be able to get several more pictures posted on Thursday.)

A growing number of people in Genesee County have a message for Chemung County Judge Peter C. Buckley: Do right by Baby Andrew.

They already think Buckley has served justice poorly by not finding Andrew Cianfrini's killer -- his own stepmother, 24-year-old Melissa Engelhardt -- guilty of murder. Instead, Buckley found Engelhardt guilty of only manslaughter in a non-jury trial where Buckley was the sole fact-finder in the case.

More than 1,200 people have joined a Facebook group, Justice for Baby Andrew, and about 100 of them gathered Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil at St. Joseph's Mausoleum, where Baby Andrew was laid to rest.

The vigil came on the one-year anniversary of Andrew's death and 26 days before Engelhardt is scheduled to be sentenced in Elmira.

"Today is a day to honor Andrew," said Kathy Dempski, a friend of Andrew's biological mother, Kristen. "But it's also a day to let the judge know about the injustice he gave to Andrew."

She later added, "She (Engelhardt) deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison. She doesn't deserve to walk out. She doesn't deserve anything."

Andrew's grandfather, John Cianfrini, pointed out that since Engelhardt was only convicted of manslaughter, the maximum penalty she faces is 25 years. She could receive as little as five years and then be eligible for parole after serving only two-thirds of that time. 

"You would have had to be there to appreciate what a devastating decision this was," Cianfrini said. "He (the judge) basically believed her story that she didn't intend to kill Andrew, only hurt him."

An expert toxicologist testified at trial that the 21-month-old toddler had twice the lethal amount of formic acid in his heart from the methanol in his system.

Methanol lowers the freezing point of water. It is a component of windshield-washer fluid.

Englehardt put the methanol in Andrew's sippy cup. Prior to poisoning Andrew, according to testimony, Englehardt did a computer search on how to poison a toddler.

John Cianfrini encouraged concerned residents to write letters to the probation department in Chemung County, which is in the midst of preparing a pre-sentence report that Buckley will review prior to imposing a sentence.

Englehardt is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 6.

A minor injury, roll over accident has been reported on Macomber Road, Alabama, just south of Towne Place.

Alabama Fire and Mercy EMS being dispatched.

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A man is reporting that he was struck by a car somewhere in the area of Martin Road and Bloomingdale Road, Alabama.

He says he's in a ditch, just came to and doesn't remember anything.

He is walking toward Western Doors store.

Law enforcement and Alabama Fire being dispatched.

UPDATE 10:45 p.m.: The accident may have happened in the area of 379 Martin Road. The man reportedly has a head injury. Mercy Flight is being put on stand by.

UPDATE 10:58 p.m.: Five minute ETA for Mercy Flight.

UPDATE 11:09 p.m.: Mercy Flight on the ground.

UPDATE 11:21 p.m.: Mercy Flight in the air.

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A car-into-tree accident is reported on Vine Street in the City of Batavia. Unknown injuries. The vehicle is now unoccupied.

Batavia Fire Department and police are responding.

In the aftermath of the York Road fire Saturday, a reader mentioned that homeowner and taxidermist Bill Scheg had once stuffed a giraffe that had died while in a parade in Le Roy.

To answer one of the questions that came up, I stopped into Pontillo's while I was in Le Roy today to see if it is still there -- it is.

Two men who reportedly ran from Walmart yesterday afternoon allegedly carrying hundreds of dollars of stolen merchandise were quickly tracked down by law enforcement.

The first suspect was taken into custody in the Kmart parking lot by Batavia Police Officer Chris Camp, who spotted the second suspect running across Lewiston Road and in between the Town of Batavia Fire Hall and Baker's Frontier Kitchens.

Deputies Chad Minuto and Timothy Wescott jumped a fence behind Baker's and pursued the suspect down Colonial Boulevard.

A citizen was able to help locate the suspect after seeing him run into the back yard of a residence on Colonial.

Wescott suffered some minor cuts going over the fence, was checked at UMMC later, and is fine, according to Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble.

Taken into custody were Phillip William Czaja, 27, of Drake Street, Oakfield, and Jarell JT Jones, 22, of Lewis Place, Batavia. Both were charged with petit larceny.

Jones was also wanted on an arrest warrant out of Genesee County Family Court. Following an arraignment in front of Judge Adams, he was committed to Genesee County Jail for six months.

Jones allegedly stole $179.88 in merchandise from Walmart. Czaja was allegedly found in possession of $256.76 in stolen merchandise.

Czaja was jailed on $200 bail.

(initial report)

Douglas Grant Goodwin Jr., 19, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal possession of a weapon, 4th, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Goodwin was stopped at 1:30 p.m., Monday, on Sheppard Road, Batavia, for allegedly pulling a trailer without registration or lights by Deputy Brian Thompson. During the stop, Goodwin was allegedly found in possession of marijuana, hydrocodone pills and a double-edged dagger. K-9 "Jay" participated in the investigation.

Gregory Louis Lepsch Jr., 18, of Batavia-Elba Townline Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Lepsch was apparently with Goodwin at the time of the traffic stop at 1:30 p.m., Monday, on Sheppard Road, by Deputy Brian Thompson and K-9 "Jay."

Thomas A. Rebar, 55, of Albion, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Rebar was arrested at 1:10 p.m., Saturday, by State Police, on East Shelby Road, Alabama.

A 16-year-old from Bethany, is charged with menacing, 2nd, using a weapon. The youth was arrested by State Police at 9:15 a.m., Sunday, for an alleged incident in Alexander. No further details were released.

Joshua H. King, 25, of Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 4th (credit card). King was arrested by State Police at 3:16 p.m., Nov. 5, for an alleged incident two days earlier in the Town of Murray. King was held without bail. No further details were released.

Walter L. Knickerbocker, 53, of Pavilion, is charged with possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7t, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Knickerbocker was arrested by State Police at 9:36 p.m., Nov. 5, on Route 19, Le Roy. No further details were released.

A car accident in the area of 189 South Main St., Batavia, has left one vehicle smoking.

Traffic is not blocked and there are no injuries.

City Fire is responding.

UPDATE 10:02 a.m.: Police on scene reports there just seems to be spilled radiator fluid.

New York Times: War and Conscience: Expanding the Definition of Conscientious Objection

Business owners and people with jobs that leave them only limited time for lunch are the target audience for South Beach Restaurant's noon-time buffet, according to owner Ken Mistler.

Mistler launched the buffet a month ago.

"People on lunch hour need to get in and get out and eat at their own pace," Mistler said.

The buffet allows people to come in, place their drink order and immediately serve themselves -- no waiting for a meal to be prepared and multiple courses to be served.

The food is all freshly made each day, Mistler said. Nothing is frozen.

And the available entrees also change each day, based on what's available at the market.

Already there've been days featuring meatloaf, steak, fish, chicken, pork, ribs and all kinds of pasta dishes.

"We want people to get a good, wholesome meal and still be in out quickly if that's what they need," Mistler said.

The buffet includes a full salad bar -- at least 24 items each day -- and fresh, homemade soup.

"We have a new soup recipe every day," Mistler said.

The desserts are also fresh and made from scratch, according to Mistler.

The buffet is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the cost is only $10 (drinks sold separately), though it is not "all you can eat."

We don't usually think of bed-sheet-robed and pointy-hatted white men burning crosses as a New York kind of thing.

That only happened in the deep, racist South, right?

Several years ago a client delivered a set of pictures to Oakfield attorney Ray Cianfrini that were clearly shot decades before in his hometown, showing men dressed exactly like Ku Klux Klan members.

While Cianfrini knew his parents had faced prejudice because of their Italian heritage -- his mother was denied a job in an insurance agency and his father was barred from the volunteer fire department -- nobody had ever told him that the Klan was once quite popular in Genesee County.

"I was shocked," Cianfrini said. "I had never seen that depicted in a picture before. I never knew that the Klan was here."

The set of pictures -- which were taken to document the funeral of a top Klan official in Oakfield in 1922, including a cross burning -- started Cianfrini on a effort to completely research the history of the Klan locally.

But not because he wanted to show anybody up, embarrass the families of former Klan members, revenge the prejudice shown against his parents or otherwise seek some sort of retribution.

He just thought it was an interesting bit of Genesee County history that should be preserved.

"I don't hold any grudges," said Cianfrini, a former mayor of the Village of Oakfield and currently a county legislator.

From about the turn of the century until the Great Depression, large portions of the American population were gripped by anti-immigrant prejudice (see The Gangs of New York).

In the 1920s, the Klan -- originally founded in 1865 -- was resurgent and recruiting millions of members in all parts of the nation. Genesee County was no exception.

At its height of popularity, there were an estimated 3,500 to 4,500 Klan members in Batavia, Oakfield, Pembroke, Bergen, Byron, Le Roy and Alabama.

Cianfrini said the members were community leaders -- the bankers, shop owners, politicians and farmers. So long as you were native born, descended from Northern European stock and Protestant, you could join the Klan.

The primary thrust of the Northern Klan's hatred was not African-Americans, although its members certainly did hate them. It was the most recent immigrants -- primarily Italians, Poles and Jews -- who concerned them the most.

Cianfrini charted how Genesee County's populations changed in the early part of the 20th Century, when the percentage of foreign-born residents went from primarily Irish, English and German to the Irish and Polish.

The change in population corresponds to the rise of the Klan.

By 1915, for example, 55 percent of all foreign-born residents were Italian.

They were drawn here by factory work, and even though they had been farmers in their native countries, agriculture opportunities were closed to them here, so they took unskilled labor jobs.

Two events helped both kill the Klan locally and allow Italians and Poles to join the mainstream of the community, Cianfrini said.

The first occurred in 1924. 

The Klan announced a march down Main Street in Batavia, and a judge issued an order against the march. A regional daily newspaper had obtained a list of all of the Klan members in Western New York and threatened to publish the list if the march took place.

More than 20,000 Klansman showed up in Batavia on Labor Day, 1924.

The newspaper published the list.

"It drove the Klan underground," Cianfrini said.

Nobody wanted to be associated publicly with the Klan.

The second significant event was World War II.

"They always say there are not atheists in foxholes," Cianfrini said. "I say, there is no prejudice in foxholes."

When veterans returned from the war, they were much more willing to accept each other as neighbors. It wasn't long after the war that Oakfield had its first Italian board member and its first Italian firefighter.

"We can talk about how prevalent it was, but I'm impressed by how in this era, we've gone from a time when a father was subject to prejudice, (to when) his son became mayor of the village where he couldn't become a firefighter."

Recent indictments from the Genesee County Grand Jury:

Donald F. Stillwagon II, is charged with assault, 2nd. Stillwagon is accused of assaulting a police officer with the intent of preventing him from performing his lawful duties. The alleged incident occurred on Sept. 29. (Initial Report)

Adam B. Thomas is charged with misdemeanor DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Thomas is accused of driving a 1998 Dodge on Prole Road in Stafford on June 13 while intoxicated.

Sath P. Dhanda is charged with two counts of criminal contempt, 1st. Dhanda is accused of physically attacking a woman for which there was an order of protection in place and putting her in fear for her life. The alleged incident occurred on Sept. 24.

James D. Henry is charged with attempted grand larceny, 3rd, and criminal possession of a forged instrument, 3rd. Henry is accused of attempting to steal something of greater value than  $3,000 on Sept. 28 in the Town of Le Roy. He is also accused of possessing forged prescriptions.

Jason A. Armstrong is charged with assault, 2nd, and criminal contempt, 2nd. Armstrong is accused of causing serious physical injury, with intent to do so, to another person in Stafford on June 27. Armstong is also accused of being in the presence of another person he was ordered by a court not to be around.

At about 3:40 p.m., dispatch received a report of two men in heavy coats supposedly weighted down with stolen merchandise were seen running for Kmart on Lewiston Road.

One man was quickly apprehended by Batavia Police in the Kmart parking lot.

The second man ran across Lewiston, past the Town of Batavia Fire Hall and onto Colonial Boulevard, where a citizen reportedly spotted him hiding in a back yard.

Sheriff's Deputies were then able to apprehend the suspect. 

More details as they become available.

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Handcrafted items, gifts with a regional flair, candles,teas and spices -- South Main has a wide selection to please most any interest. Decorate your home or office for Fall or start your Christmas shopping. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Carlson's Studio, 39 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: Christmas is coming! Now is the time to get your holiday portraits. We have a $150 gift card for $75 (+$2 PayPal Service fee).

Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center, 3646 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: Fall decorations are in as well as a big selection of spring bulbs. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

The Daily Grind, 85 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: For Batavia's finest coffee, smoothies, as well as fast and convenient breakfasts and lunches, stop into The Daily Grind. We have a $10 gift card for $5.

The Enchanted Florist, 202 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: Fall colors. Fall flowers. Brighten your home or office. We have a $20 gift certificate for $9.50.

Blue Pearl Yoga, 200 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: Exercise your soul as well as your body in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. We have a gift certificate for three weeks of yoga, 13 classes, a $36 value, for $18.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

CARLSON'S STUDIO
Button added back in because the person who bought Carlson's today had purchased the same deal within the past six months.

The Batavia City Council continued to haggle over whether to sell Falleti Ice Arena at its Monday meeting.

At least four members are clearly in the "sell" camp -- Rose Mary Christian, Bill Cox, Bob Bialkowski and Sam Barone.

The others are more leary of surrendering an asset to a private entity that could do absolutely anything with it.

I don’t think anybody here is saying they want the ice arena to go away," Cox said. "Just because it's privatized doesn’t mean it we won’t have it anymore."

To which Frank Ferrando pointed out that once it's sold, the city won't have any say what a private owner might do with it.

Cox's position was that a private company already runs it without city control, and Ferrando countered that as long as the city owns it, a management company can always be replaced if it isn't getting the job done the way the city wants it done.

And so it goes -- the pros and cons of selling Falleti Ice Arena.

In the end, the council decided to continue the discussion at a future conference meeting.

At issue on Monday was whether to spend up to $5,000 on an appraisal, which City Manager Jason Molino said would be the first step toward finding a buyer.

Barone wondered why the price was so high and asked whether the city's own appraiser or a local real estate agent could provide an appraisal.

Molino explained that only a licensed appraiser with experience in commercial property could provide an appraisal that could legally be used in establishing fair-market value.

Ferrando and Councilman Tim Buckley objected to spending money on an appraisal.

"I’d like to know what it’s worth, but I’m not sure I want to spend $5,000 right now," said Ferrando. "We keep dipping into the reserve fund and pretty soon we’re not going to have a reserve."

Buckley said he isn't even sure it's legal for the city to sell Falleti since a federal grant, secured by the late Rep. Barber Conable, paid for its construction. 

Buckley wanted to table the matter, but Bialkowski objected to any further delays since the current management contract is coming up for renewal.

One city resident spoke during public comments about the proposed sale.

"I would ask those council members who feel that (the city shouldn't be in the ice arena business) -- should we be in the parks business, or the water spray park business, or the baseball stadium business? " asked Dave Meyer (pictured).

"Frankly, I personally believe that Dwyer Stadium is a much better example of public money wasted, but no one ever talks about reducing support for that facility or selling it. Why?

"Because whether I agree with public support for that or not, I know that there are many people who enjoy going to a game on a summer night and I also know that Dwyer Stadium, and the ice arena and Austin Park and Lions Park and all of the other parks are part of the recreational fabric of our city and they add to the quality of life here."