Some 150 residents and officials of the town of Alabama got together last night to talk about a proposal that would allow a 1,300-acre manufacturing site to move into town at the intersection of Route 77 and Judge Road, according to WBTA's Chad Zambito. It seems no specific manufacturer has yet been named, though a feasibility study shows that a solar panel or flat display manufacturer might be the best fit. Nothing will get done, however, without state funding and the sanction of the town. Word is that any such large-scale manufacturer could bring "thousands" of jobs to the area.

That brings up a serious question: What would thousands of jobs, which I interpret to mean thousands of new people, mean for a town that hasn't even cracked the 2,000 mark in population? Doesn't that mean a new town? Also, how does that work? Recruiting for thousands of jobs? Are there stipulations that jobs must first come from the region? How is that possible? What other benefit would such a manufacturer have for a rural community? Would this mean the transition to more suburban living in Alabama?

Lots of questions here. Don't know if the Alabamans are already asking or not. Anyone know?

In other news, we reported yesterday on an article from the Daily News about the shady goings-on at a pair of area Pizza Hut restaurants. Today, the official word is out: Pizza Hut restaurants in Albion, Amherst, Medina, Alden, East Aurora, Grand Island and Aurora have all been closed. Zambito reports that the owners cite poor performance as the reason for closing the shops—why else would they, right—and say that they will open new locations "under the Wing Street Chicken Theme," whatever the heck that means.

Bob DiCesare's column today for the Buffalo News is about Dave Wellenzohn, the job he did for the Batavia Muckdogs and his quest for another position with a minor league baseball team.

“The minute Rochester came in they pretty much stripped me of all authority, which was fine,” he said. “It made financial sense to run it out of Rochester. But I was still the GM. I handled all the baseball ops and I was pretty much the face of the team. I had my radio show and all that so that was good for me because I knew I was pretty much putting together my resume for the next job.”

Wellenzohn promised himself that he wouldn’t let his state of limbo undermine his passion for the sport. He got on the field before Batavia home games, microphone in hand, and worked to stir up the crowd. He drove seven hours to Lowell, Mass. for the Muckdogs semifinal playoff opener, then turned around after the three-hour game and drove straight back to Batavia. No wonder the team’s booster club stepped outside the box and named him its Fan of the Year. It was just another strange occurrence in the most unorthodox of seasons with the grand ending still waiting to be written.

 Brighton's defenders made things difficult for the Batavia boys soccer team Thursday.

The Blue Devils had a few chances to score, but fell behind early and wound up getting shutout 2-0 in the Monroe County League game.

The Barons attacked early and had a shot to score 13 minutes in when a shot hit the crossbar atop the net. They took the 1-0 advantage just moments later when Sean Rose got one past Batavia keeper Jordan Brown.

Brighton kept the pressure high early in the first half, with Batavia's defense making some key stops, including a penalty kick attempted just after the goal was scored.

The Blue Devils had their best chance to score in the final six minutes of the opening half.

With about 5 1/2 minutes remaining, Batavia had a corner kick.

Brighton goalie Jake Bonar stopped two difficult shot attempts and a third went sailing over the net.

The Barons had a corner with less than a minute left before the break, but never got a shot off.

The momentum that Batavia had built near the end of the first half vanished fast at the start of the second half as Michael Patchen scored off a pass by Joe Shapiro at the 42 minute mark

Batavia had a few chances to score, but not many quality opportunities because of the Brighton defenders. Bonar had 11 saves for the Barons, who are 2-3 in the league and 3-7 overall.

Brown made nine saves for Batavia, which drops to 0-4 in the league and 4-6 overall.

UPDATED WITH VIDEO

Kevin Weber, 37, of Vine St., Apt 3, Batavia, was arrested and charged with third-degree arson, city police said today. That arrest followed witness reports that Weber was responsible for a fire Monday at a storage shed at 25 Vine St. that caused minor damage to the structure. Police and fire personnel had responded to the scene of the fire Monday night, although upon their arrival the fire was already extinguished. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. Weber was sent to Genesee County Jail without bail.

City police reported that 56 traffic tickets were issued during an enforcement patrol on Law, Oak and Ellicot Streets and Richmond Avenue during the month of September.

From the press release:

The tickets were issued for equipment violations, failure to wear seat belts, as well as suspended registrations and licenses. One fugitive from justice from Homeland Security was detained as a result of the operation.

Two separate operations focusing on commercial traffic were conducted. Officers issued 36 tickets with 6 commercial vehicles being removed from the highway due to safety concerns.

Det. Richard Schauf supplied this additional information about the fugitive arrest:

"As a result of one of the cars stopped during the operation a license check revealed that the person was wanted by Homeland Security. The division of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took custody of the individual and transported to their facility."

Earlier, in our discussion of what the city should and should not do to help deal with the potential blight of absentee landlordism and other problem properties, city resident John Roach told us to take a look at what he called the "Slum Lord" control law. Roach said that this law was proposed in 2005, then tabled, never to return again. We asked the city for this law, and the office of the clerk responded quickly and courteously, sending us a copy of the proposed law with the note that the law had "failed" at a meeting of the City Council on December 12, 2005.

We have telephone City Councilman Frank Ferrando twice, yesterday and today, left two messages and sent him an e-mail to inquire more about this law, and get his thoughts on how the city ought to handle the problem. Ferrando was president of Council when that law "failed" in 2005.

We thought some further conversation on the issue might benefit if we took a look at some excerpts from that "failed" proposal. Before we do so, let me sum up what I found in the law: This law does not seem aimed at controlling properties in decline due to absentee landlordism, otherwise known as slum lord properties, as has been suggested by John Roach. Rather, it seems to concern properties that are frequently cited for loud noise and drunken reveling.

That being said, let's first look at the reasons outlined in the 2005 proposal for instituting such a public nuisance control law:

The City Council, after public hearings, finds that there is an increasing use of real property within the City of Batavia for the purpose of flagrant violation of the penal and alcohol, beverage control laws as well as the codes of the City of Batavia relating to continued violations of the law.

The City Council finds that this situation seriously interferes with the interest of the public in the areas of quality of neighborhood life and environment; diminution of property values; safety of the public upon the streets and sidewalks; and increasing costs of law enforcement as a result of these illegal activities.

The City Council, therefore, finds it in the public interest to authorize and empower the appropriate city officials to impose sanctions and penalties for such public nuisances as an additional and appropriate method of law enforcement in response to the apparent proliferation of these public nuisances without prejudice to the use of any other procedures and remedies available under any other law.

Making sense of the legalese that follows is an arduous task. But this much we've figured out. This law gives city officials the right to act against "public nuisance" properties. Quaified as "public nuisance" properties are those that violated specific statutes—typically on two, three or four occasions—of either the state penal code, the alcohol beverage control law or city code (dealing with alcoholic beverages and noise).

Importantly, there are no details regarding problem properties that are not "kept up"—where the grass is waist high and the lawn is littered with trash, for example. That is, this law treats only those properties which are drunken and/or noisy.

So what happens to these properties if they are found in violation?

In addition to the enforcement procedures established elsewhere, the City Manager, or his designee, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, shall be authorized to:

A. Order the discontinuance of such activity at the building, structure or place where such public nuisance exists; and/or

B. Order the closing of said building, structure or place to the extent necessary to abate the nuisance, as prescribed below.

For more information, download a copy of the proposed law here, and be sure to check out Part One of this series, which features an interview with City Council President Charlie Mallow.

Wanted:  Memories of the Albion Academy

History will be made in Elba on October 4.

The Elba/Byron-Bergen football team will be playing its homecoming game under the lights for the first time in the history of the program.

Elba has never had lights on its field and the Elba Sports Boosters will be bringing in temporary lights for the game against Alexander, allowing the Lancers to host a night game for the first time ever.

The Section 5 schedule still says the game has a 1:30 p.m. kickoff time, but it will actually be at 7 p.m.

It seems the Daily News ran out of all the hard-hitting and otherwise informative news that made for an overstuffed edition Wednesday—really, they put together a fine paper yesterday. Today's top headline, in triple-bold font, reads: "Pizza Huts set 'to go' in Albion, Medina". Sure, this is news, but top of the front page news? Well, on closer inspection, it seems that yes, there is more to this story than one might at first suspect.

Check out this second paragraph from reporter Virginia Kropf:

Rumors about the closing of the Albion and Medina stores have been circulating around the county for several days, but attempts to verify the fact on Wednesday were met with "No comment" or slammed receivers.

Sounds like some serious business. And Kropf doesn't let up. In what seemed like a boring story about a couple chain restaurants closing turns into a story about the worker getting screwed over by the man. It turns out the employees in Albion were never told the store would be closing, not officially—or at least, this is the impression from the article. Instead, the management simply stopped posting work schedules and told the employees to show up in Medina at 9:00am Thursday without their uniforms. They were not told why, they said to Kropf.

Check this out:

A man who answered the phone in the Lockport office said he was a supervisor, but declined to give his name. He said he knew nothing about any closings and when confronted with the sign in the Albion Pizza Hut [which read: Due to closing...], he said, "Thanks for telling me. I'll have to call and tell them to take it down."

When asked if he was saying the store would not be closing, he hung up.

Whoa. Those are some shady dealings. A quote from one of the women who works at the Albion Pizza Hut sums it up: "If they had been up front and told us, I could have had that other job," she said.

Great job giving a voice to the voiceless, Virginia. Great article.

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

Christopher A. Laird, 16, of Elba, was charged with a felony count of third-degree burglary yesterday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Laird was reported missing on Saturday and was subsequently spotted by police in the village of Le Roy on Wednesday. Once he was seen, Laird allegedly fled. Police then searched the area with the help of sheriff's deputies and state police, including the state aviation unit. Laird was eventually located and arrested at a residence on Transit Road in Elba, where he had stolen a Polaris Trail Blazer off-road four-wheeler. He was arrested, charged with burglary and sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Ryan M. Norton, 34, of Le Roy, was charged with second-degree harassment and endangering the welfare of a child yesterday evening, deputies said. During an argument at his residence on Summit Street in Le Roy, Norton allegedly strangled and struck a woman and endangered the welfare of a 14-year-old child.

All above reports issued in published releases from the department.

WBTA's Chad Zambito tells us about a new Web site for state residents that allows anyone with the inclination to search out how much their municipality is spending, in real dollars. The site is called Open Book New York, and it was launched and will be maintained by the state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Really, folks, it's this easy:

Zambito did us the favor searching the city of Batavia. Spending for the city was $24 million in 2006, while $5.5 million of that went to public safety. You can look at figures as far back as 1996, but no later than 2006, at least for the time being.

I am searching for information regarding Capt. Thomas C Campbell Jr. This is what I know: b. 16 May 1920 d. 20 Oct 1944, when his aircraft crashed near lake Anten in Sweden. They were on route from Leuchars, Scotland to Bromma, Sweden as part of "Project Sonnie", in a C-87 (NC18618). According to one webpage, he came from Genesee Co, NY (source of this information unknown). According to a local newspaper report (Swedish newspaper Sydsvenska dagbladet) dated 12 May 1948, his mother then lived in Alexandria, VA. A Large Stone Tablet with the Crew Names and a Propeller from their B - 24 43-30619 crashed near Goteburg in Sweden Oct 20, 1944 bearing civil registration NC18618. This was some sort of secret operation. It seems that the plane was a part of Operation Carpetbagger, which was a special program to deliver supplies to resistance groups in enemy-occupied countries, to deliver personnel to the field, and occasionally to bring back personnel from the field. It is believed that this plane was being used to fly back to the UK Norwegian aircrew trainees and American internees from Sweden. I can find nothing in the Batavia Daily News regarding this Genesee Co. resident. I don't have a clue as to what amount of time would lapse between the crash and when it was reported. There is no record of Capt. Campbell enlisting in Genesee Co., nor is his mother listed as a Genesee Co. Gold Star mother. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

 Canisteo-Greenwood (1-2) at Le Roy (3-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

The Oatkan Knights are coasting after beating Wellsville 77-8 in Week 3 and should have a big advantage over Canisteo-Greenwood, which has only scored 66 total points through three weeks of the season.

The only way Le Roy could struggle in this game is if the players think past C-G with tough games against Avon (2-1) and Caledonia-Mumford (3-0) and Hornell (3-0) to end the regular season.

The Oatkan Knights - ranked fifth in the state in Class C - have the highest scoring offense and have allowed the least amount of points of all the teams in Livingston Conference Division II.

Le Roy is moving the ball on the ground and through the air as Andrew Alexander has rushed for 421 yards through three games and Travis Fenstermaker has thrown for 357 yards, most of which has gone to Mike Humphrey.

Humphrey and Fenstermaker are possibly the best passing duo in Section 5, hooking up for five touchdowns so far. Humphrey has been over 100 yards receiving in the last two games.

Batavia (1-2) at Midlakes (0-3)

7 p.m. Friday

The Blue Devils hit the road for the first time this season and have momentum after a big 41-28 win over Waterloo last week.

Batavia has given up a lot of points this season, but scoring has not been a problem. Dan Geiger's offense has put up 74 points over the last two games.

Rob Williams has been a big reason why.

The senior has 374 yards rushing, which is quite impressive when you throw in the 17 yards he was held to in a Week 1 loss against Le Roy.

Williams has also been a factor on the defensive side of the ball and special teams, so Midlakes will be looking out for him.

Enter Anthony D'Aurizio.

D'Aurizio is the perfect compliment to Williams and runs with a bruising style. He picked up 180 yards and two touchdowns last week.

Midlakes has struggled, scoring just 21 points while giving up 73.

Batavia enters this road game with momentum and as the favorite, with a chance to even up at 2-2.

Holley (0-3) at Alexander (0-3)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

This game features the only two winless teams in the Genesee Region League and two programs with new coaches.

Holley's Chad DeRock served as jayvee coach last year while the school did not field a varsity squad. He has some players on the line with some size and the Hawks look to pound the football.

Unfortunately, they haven't had much success doing it thus far, scoring just 30 points so far this season.

Holley had just 56 total yards of offense in last week's 41-0 loss against Pembroke.

Alexander's Dave Radley has a squad filled with juniors and has had the hardest schedule in the GR so far, having to play Oakfield-Alabama (3-0), Pembroke (3-0) and Attica (2-1).

The Trojans have done a so-so job of putting points on the board, netting 33. But the defense has been beyond porous, giving up 117 points. 

Both squads are going to look to play physical football, with the winner getting their coach a first victory. The losing team will fall to 0-4.

Oakfield-Alabama (3-0) at Notre Dame (2-1)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

This is a huge game in terms of the race for the Genesee Region League title after Notre Dame's lone loss coming to Pembroke and O-A still having the Dragons on the schedule.

The Hornets are doing it again, running the ball with several different runners behind a solid offensive line, led by Division I prospect Chris Williams. 

Tim Smith (304 yards, 4 TD), Brad Riner (279 yards, 6 TD), Joe Natalizia (192 yards, 2 TD) and Jason Stanley (162) all have the ability to go off at any time.

O-A - ranked 13th in the state for Class C - has already rushed for over 1,000 yards as a team and has scored a league-leading 153 points.

Quarterback A.J. Kehlenbeck can also throw the ball a little.. He has completed 7-of-14 pass attempts for 94 yards and two TDs this season.

The Fighting Irish have skilled players all over the field.

Mike Pratt went for over 100 yards rushing in a Week 2 win over Attica and Kevin Schildwaster went for over 100 in Week 3's 37-6 victory over Barker. Both will get carries and you can look for the one that is running the ball better to keep getting the ball.

But if O-A's stingy defense shuts down the run, Notre Dame has a great passing option with quarterback Nick Bochicchio and wide receiver Kevin Francis.

The last time these two teams met on Notre Dame's field two years ago, the game went into overtime during a rain storm, with the Hornets escaping with a win.

Attica (2-1) at Barker (1-2)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

Class B Offensive Player of the Week Andy Ruddock looks to lead the Blue Devils, who beat Elba/Byron-Bergen 40-6 last week.

Ruddock earned the honor after gaining 193 yards with a score on 18 carries in the game. He also caught a pass for 19 yards and returned a kick 43 yards.

Barker is probably going to focus on shutting Rudy down, so Blue Devil coach Jeff Cusmano might let his quarterback have a big day.

Brandon Rollins - who transfered to Attica this school year - has gotten better in each game this season and had a nice passing game last week. He went 8-of-12 for 85 yards and three touchdowns last week.

The Blue Devils always think defense first and it has shown as the team has given up a league-low 39 points.

That could be a problem for Barker, which has scored just 31 points this season. The only victory the Raiders have came against Holley.

Greg Brown is the top rushing option, gaining 238 yards with two TDs so far. Ray Paul has pitched in 136 yards with a couple of scores.

Anthony Porter and Ethan Dewart each have thrown for 57 yards this season.

Elba/Byron-Bergen (1-2) at Pembroke (3-0)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

The Dragons spread the ball around, but Andrew Wright has easily been one of the top players in the league so far.

He has nine total touchdowns so far this season and has been huge as a runner, a receiver and a kick returner.

Wright had two touchdowns and a 99-yard kickoff return for a score in Week 1, carried the ball just eight times for 185 yards and four touchdowns in Week 2 and then picked up 118 yards rushing on 10 carries with two catches for 55 yards in Week 3.

He has 18 rushing attempts for 283 yards and five touchdowns and has caught five passes for 180 yards and three scores.

Mike Dibble will spend the entire game in the backfield and does a great job of pacing the game. He has 47 rushing attempts for 240 yards and four scores.

David Kleckler has put up some very efficient passing numbers this season and also has the ability to run as a quarterback. He will typically look in tight end Ken Babcock's direction at least a couple of times in the game.

Kleckler has gone 11-of-23 passing for 317 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. He has rushed for 127 yards and two TDs on eight carries.

Babcock has caught six passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns.

The Lancers have had no problem rushing the ball so far, but have only managed to score 57 points.

Brandon Spurling is at almost 400 yards rushing and Zach Green has about 200 yards.

Elba has also made the switch at quarterback, making Eric Kowalik the full time QB and moving Cody Torpey to wide receiver. He could also get some rushing attempts.

You may have noticed this scene driving by the Cornell Cooperative Extension on East Main Street in Batavia:

Several huge oak and silver maple trees have come down out front of the Extension over the past few days—one of them was more than 90 feet tall. We called Kimberly Amey at the Extension to find out what was going on.

It turns out that in a recent windstorm, a branch from one of these gargantuans broke off and like a missile shot down into the ground, getting stuck there. When the folks at the Extension saw the damage and the ease with which that branch came loose and turned projectile, they thought it was time to take a closer look at the trees. As you can see here to the right, some of them were so rotten they were hollow on the inside. There was nothing left to do but chop them down, said Amey.

For the most part the work was routine, but it turned out that inside one of the rotted trunks someone had poured concrete! Amey said that whoever did that thought it might be a safe way to stabilize the tree. She said that was what people used to do with dead trees to keep them from uprooting and impaling downtown structures if the winds got that bad. Well, maybe they weren't going to go sailing around Batavia like that, but you get the point. They could have caused some serious damage to the Extension building, at the very least.

On the bright side, the Extension hopes to soon plant some ornamental flowering trees, like you see in the back of the Extension at the main entrance facing the parking lot. Amey says they're looking for something that would look nice with the building. Here's a photograph of those trees out back that I took this spring.

We said yesterday that we'd be working on a series of posts related to neighborhood improvement issues. For the first part of our series—not that we've yet flesh out a second part—we would like to focus on problem properties, in particular: what they are and how to deal with them. We've already sent out questions on that topic and left messages with a couple members of the City Council. We expect to hit up a couple more. Council President Charlie Mallow was kind enough to get right back to us, and we have his answers below. He's got some real insights into the issue. Check out his comments.

We're also hoping to hear from you. When does a neighboring home turn from annoyance to nuisance to real problem? How should the city handle its problem properties? When should people be left alone?

Please be sure to check back with the site in the coming days and weeks. We hope to get up many more posts on this issue, which we're sure is an important one for this community.

Answers from Charlie Mallow:

How do you define a problem property?

A problem property is one that isn’t adding to the balance of a neighborhood. It’s the sore thumb of the area. Its owner is not keeping up with maintenance or its residents are causing disturbances. There also has to be some intent to avoid doing routine maintenance or create disturbances routinely. Since anyone could have health problems that keep them from being able to keep up with property maintenance from time to time.

When is it decided that a property owner has been given enough warnings? Is that threshold defined? What action then follows? What action ought to follow?

These thresholds are found in our code and state code. They are pretty ineffective; I would like to see some changes. I would like to see a property given notice and asked to respond, and then I would like to see a follow-up some time later, where a court appearance ticket is issued with a fine. We have been too easy in the past and people know how to work the system at this point.

What are the best ways to take preventive action against absentee landlordism?

Tough question. I believe you need to make it easier for people to own their own home. That’s easier said than done in our current mortgage crisis. Proper property maintenance inspections by city staff will take care of most of the problem. Our cities real issue is that we have not enforced the laws on the books for years. We have been understaffed and this has never been a priority of city government.

What is the difference between a slum lord and a lazy tenant or homeowner? Is there a difference if the outcome is the same? Ought they to be treated differently?

Right now there is no punishment for being a lazy or bad tenant. The landlord gets left holding the bag. There is another side to the problem. Most landlords are good people who care about and for their properties. There are some rotten apples but, we can’t keep beating on landlords and cast them all in a bad light. We need to find a way of punishing the right person. How? That is something we in the NIC (Neighborhood Improvement Committee) have talked about over and over again and can’t seem to find an answer for.

When should a tenant and not the landlord be held responsible for the condition of a property, if ever?

See above..

In the photo above is a neat home on Walnut Street. Batavia has many such colorful and interesting residences. We can only hope that the residents do their best to take care of them.

City police are investigating a string of downtown burglaries over the past several weeks, the most recent at St. Joseph's School on Summit Street, which was broken into twice on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Daily News. Palace of Sweets in Batavia City Centre was the target last week, according to Det. Richard Schauf, who told reporter Scott DeSmit that the thief made off with about $900 in cash and may have had the key to the office.

The burglar broke glass to enter the store and then opened steel blinds which bar entry to the store after-hours, to get back onto the mall concourse and, apparently, leave the building.

Dan's Tire Service and Ponderosa Restaurant were also broken into in August. Nothing was taken from the restaurant. Dan's Tires reported about $155 in cash missing from the register.

The Batavian called the police chief Tuesday morning to get some information about the downtown burglaries. We had received reports of the robberies, and several readers had come to us looking for more information about the city's law enforcement. One reader said she heard a lot of sirens over the weekend, more than seemed usual. We phoned the dispatch center to inquire about the sirens. We were told that they do not log calls in a blotter and were too busy to provide any other information.

Dan DiLaura, owner of Dan's Tire, told us that the burglary there on August 23 happened around 10:00pm. The thief smashed a window at the garage and left a blood trail leading from the entry to the cash register. DiLaura said it was a bit puzzling, because the thief seemed to know the exact location of the money, judging by the trail. Also puzzling, the $1,500 flat-screen television about a dozen feet from the cash register was left untouched.

Residents of Batavia's southside neighborhood assembled outside the home of Anne Marie Starowitz on Chestnut Street yesterday to talk traffic, according to the Daily News. Several city officials came out. Also on hand were engineers from FRA Engineering, the firm that is handling the construction of the Oak Street roundabout.

Reporter Joanne Beck writes:

[Residents] fear what may happen once a roundabout project gets going next spring ... at the intersection of Walnut, South Main, Pearl, Oak and Franklin streets. The plan includes a detour along Route 98, at Law Street, to alleviate some traffic congestion near the construction zone. All of that detoured traffic will then spill into the southside neighborhood, the Starowitz's said.

Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian passed out a letter that said other parts of the city have also been affected by construction projects. That sounds like a good point to make. When we're talking about downtown construction projects and traffic detours, isn't there always a neighborhood that has to bear the brunt of it?

Anne Marie Starowitz:

"My major concern is this is just politics as usual. It's done, and your voice means nothing. These (City Councilmen) are elected to represent us. I'm really concerned about the children."

Residents were told that their concerns will be taken to the city for consideration.

Speaking of construction, the Genesee County Economic Development Center is about finished with all of its projects for the season, save for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park. Work will get underway on that project this fall, weather permitting.

Speaking of traffic, a pickup truck was engulfed in flames at the intersection of Lewiston Road and Veterans Memorial Drive in the town of Batavia yesterday afternoon. Traffic through the area was redirected while fire crews put out the blaze.

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

 Penn State Volleyball is off to a 12-0 start this fall and Byron-Bergen graduate Alyssa D'Errico is having a great season.

The Nittany Lions are the defending NCAA Division I champions and are cruising already this year.

D'Errico played in all 36 matches last season and has played in all 12 thus far in 2008 and is tied for third on the team with 68 digs.

She has 13 assists and 10 service aces.

Penn State will be hosting Purdue on Friday and Illinois on Saturday.

D'Errico led Byron-Bergen to three straight New York State Public High School Athletic Association titles (2004-2006) while earning first-team all-state honors in all three seasons.

Check out this cool little Q&A with D'Errico that is on the Penn State Web site.

Forty-four-year-old Thomas K. Lee was charged with a felony count of first-degree criminal contempt and a felony count of second-degree assault last night, city police said. Lee is accused of violating an order of protection by going to the home of his ex-wife. When police tried to arrest Lee at the home on MacArthur Drive, Lee allegedly punched one of the officers in the face. He was sent to Genesee County Jail without bail.

Richmond Memorial Library will host a book lunch today in the library's Gallery Room at 19 Ross Street in Batavia. Folks are encouraged to come by to hear Bill Kauffman talk about his new book (that's it here to the right) while they eat lunch. They call it "Books Sandwiched In," and it starts at 12:10pm and runs to about 1:00pm, long enough to get a healthy dose of culture, but not too long that you can't make it on your lunch break from work.

From the press release:

Bill Kauffman will talk about his new book, Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet: The Life of Luther Martin. The Friends of the Library co-sponsor this free program. Bring your lunch; coffee, tea and cookies are provided.  All welcome. For more information, call the library at (585) 343-9550, ext. 8 or log on to www.batavialibrary.org.

Genesee County legislators last night approved a grant application to study a shared jail facility with Orleans County, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Grant funds could total $50,000 for the study, and local taxpayers shouldn't have to pay more than $2,300. Also approved at last night's meeting: the purchase of Finn, a $7,000, 3-year-old, Czechoslovakian German Shepherd who will join the Sheriff's Department as their newest K-9 recruit. Finn's presence means that the current K-9, 10-year-old Jay, can finally start to phase into retirement.

Fischer reports some not-so-good news about the county's ambulance service. It's said that the city of Batavia is charging fees to the surrounding municipalities for providing coverage all over the county. Some towns—Darien and Pembroke are named—have complained that "there have been instances where the city has failed to show up for an emergency call," according to Fischer.