There's an underlying assumption in today's Daily News story on murder suspect Scott Doll's mayoral candidacy in Corfu that Doll shouldn't be on the ballot.

Two phrases related to America's judicial system spring to mind: presumption of innocence and innocent until proven guilty.

Doll hasn't even been indicted yet for the beating death of Joseph Benaquist.

The evidence against Doll, as reported so far, is pretty damning.  But none of us where there. None of us yet really know what's going on.  There could be as yet some undiscovered or unreleased piece of evidence exonerating Doll.

I'm not saying or even suggesting that such evidence exists.  The issue to me is it seems a violation of due process to remove Doll's name -- a punishment of sorts -- from the Corfu ballot until he's convicted.  Shouldn't we just drop the question of whether his name is on the ballot until he is either convicted or admits the crime?  If neither happens before the election in March, it's up to the voters of Corfu to decide whether they want to stand behind a man suspected of murder.

Earlier today, we reported that the city of Batavia may not release the salaries of its city employees until after the City Council has already voted on the budget. Several individuals have come to us to express concern over the choice by Council to institute raises for city officials when unemployment is on the rise and every week seems to bear the news of another downtown business closing shop.

Is it just? Should city officials and department heads get raises just because all other city employees are guaranteed a raise under their union contract?

For those of you who missed it, Daily News reporter Joanne Beck turned out an excellent piece Saturday on the proposed pay raises for city officials. When Beck questioned city leaders about the raises slated for department heads, despite the down economy, and about the significant increase in pay for the assistant city manager—$24,000 more than past assistants—she was accused of being sexist.

From that article:

Council President Charlie Mallow believes it's a ''sexist'' form of badgering for no good reason.

"It seems we have chosen to disrespect and take for granted those who have come in to clean up the mess others have left us with," Mallow said Thursday. "I also believe there is sexism in this whole line of questioning. There are at least four other men that make more money than (Assistant Manager Sally Kuzon) and I don't see repeated questions about them."

Mallow and City Manager Jason Molino felt the same way, they said: The assistant's salary is justified and the topic is not really news. But it wasn't Kuzon, who has worn many hats to oversee public works, community development and code enforcement, being questioned. Her salary of about $84,000 was. Past assistants have made about $60,000.

The issue of salary increases has been raised on a few occasions. When The Batavian asked about the raises for department heads last month, we were told that it was only fair because all the other city employees were guaranteed raises as a result of union contracts.

Mallow told us in an e-mail at the time:

There is a sense of right and wrong here. I do not believe non-union employees should be punished for not being part of a collective barging unit. Keep in mind that our administrative people have worked hand in hand with council to eliminate close to a $3 million dollar spending deficit in the last two years. The hard work of these administrative people reduced the size of city government. Some people out of sheer ignorance would like to single these people out; I think the rest of the community understands how far we have come and who helped us along the way.

Since then we have been trying to break out the budget info that pertains specifically to employee salaries. Last week, in what ought to be the ultimate effort, we filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the city clerk's office. In it, we requested the salaries for all city employees for the current fiscal year, the proposed salaries for the coming year, and those of the previous year.

On February 13, five days after we filed the request, we were informed that it would require 45 days for the city to compile the information. From Heidi Parker, city clerk: "With regards to the request for salary information, gathering that data could take a significant amount of time and therefore will be available within 45 days. I will forward you the information sooner, if I get it before the 45 days."

If you do the math, that would make the information available on March 30. City Council has until March 31 to approve the budget. Right now, they plan to vote well before that date, likely early in March at the next business meeting, we were told.

The question is simple: How can the city justify pay raises when the economy is so obviously in a funk? In downtown Batavia alone, five business have closed their doors since November, and more are rumored to follow suit. More than just a loss to the business community and downtown shoppers and diners, these closures signify a loss of tax revenue.

It turns out we weren't the only ones who had trouble procuring such information. A councilman and the Daily News also ran into road blocks. Fortunately for the Daily, their FOIL request was approved in time.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski has asked to add salaries to the agenda for council's conference meeting Feb. 23. He wants to discuss the topic of salaries versus personnel, he said.

That won't happen during public session, Mallow said. He feels it is about personnel, which is personal, and it won't be a free-for-all in open session, he said.

Bialkowski had asked to get administrative salary information but was rebuffed by council, he said. He was not aware what the top salaries were until they were published in The Daily News recently, he said. That information, which was obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request, listed the assistant manager's salary at the top with $83,959, followed by the city manager's salary at $83,487. Those salaries are contingent on a proposed 2.85 percent raise in the 2009-10 budget. City Council has until March 31 to adopt a final budget.

We've received reports of a car fire on Munson Street in downtown LeRoy near Genesee Valley BOCES. Emergency crews have been dispatched, but I would steer clear of driving through that area for the next hour or so.

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Wilma Nichols of Alexander was awarded the Rotary Club of Batavia's highest honor for a non-Rotarian yesterday afternoon. WBTA's Dan Fischer tells us that Nichols was surprised at lunch yesterday with the Paul Harris Fellowship, named for the founder of Rotary. Nichols was 8 years old when the Batavia Rotary was formed in 1919. She is 98 today.

Fischer writes:

Wilma has served lunch to the Rotary Club every week for more years than anyone can remember. The club surprised Wilma yesterday, secretly inviting her family to attend the ceremony. Past Rotary Presidents served lunch to Wilma.

Wilma accepted the award with her typical humility and grace.

Visit WBTA online to hear Nichols.

We received the following statement from Corfu Mayor Todd Skeet by e-mail late last night. In full:

I would like to extend the sympathy and prayers of the entire community to the families affected by the recent tragedy in the Town of Pembroke.  We are a tightly knit community.  Now is the time to put their needs foremost in our hearts, minds and prayers.  We ask that everyone show the greatest respect for their privacy in the difficult days ahead.



Any requests for further official statements should be directed to the Genesee County Sheriff's office.  We ask that everyone be considerate and allow us all time to heal.

Murder suspect Scott F. Doll was recently endorsed by Republicans to run on their ticket for mayor in the village of Corfu.

Doll was arraigned earlier today on a felony count of second-degree murder in the death of his business associate and former colleague, Joseph E. Benaquist, who was found bludgeoned to death in his driveway early this morning.

Please see our initial post for the full details.

Corfu Village Clerk Sandra Thomas informed us that Doll had only recently moved back to the village and had no prior experience in the government there. He was endorsed by the Corfu Republicans during a caucus that was held on January 26. Elections for the village are scheduled for March 17.

We left a message for Mayor Todd Skeet. We have not yet heard back. We also tried to contact Andrea Vogler, who was listed as the chair of the Corfu Republicans on the caucus information that was supplied to the county.

Doll's family has been prominent in the Corfu community, where they owned "Doll's Super Duper grocery store" for 40 years, as Scott DeSmit reports for the Daily News.

Officials have yet to release any more information on the business ties between the two men. They have only said that the two were "in business together," and that they picked up used cars at an auction at Clarence which they then sold to customers in the area.

A check at the Genesee County Clerk's Office yielded no significant results when we searched for business information related to Doll and Benaquist. Doll was, however, listed on a financing statement for a loan from Automotive Financing Corp., along with the business SF Enterprizes, which had a listed address of 3 Corfu Plaza.

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This is a look into that plaza from Route 33. We drove through and did not see any signs for a business by the name of SF Enterprizes.

Investigators were absent from the scene of the alleged murder this afternoon at the home of Joseph Benaquist in Pembroke. A lone dog was to be found at the house, chained up out front of the garage.

BYRON, NY -- A small plan has  reportedly crashed into trees behind 6946 Ivison Road.

There are no reported injuries and minor damage to the plane.

There is reportedly a small, personal runway behind the house at that location.

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UPDATE 2:00 p.m.: John Sackett of Batavia said it looked like a beautiful day to take in World War II era Ercoupe prop plane for a short air patrol. Unfortunately, the battery was a little short on juice, so he needed to start it by turning the propeller.

That's where things went wrong. Sackett said the engine got a little too much gas and when the engine started, the plane pushed over its chocks and started rolling down the runway.

Sackett was able to avoid getting hit by his own plane, but the grape vines of a neighboring house were less fortunate.  As the plane entered the yard from Sackett's private runway, it headed straight for the grapes, hit a post, spun nearly 360 degrees and rolled into three pine trees, where it came to rest.

There were no injuries.

Sackett valued the plane -- used to train pilots near the end of WW II -- at $25,000.  One wing was damaged and there's dent on the engine compartment. He said he isn't sure how much it will cost to repair the damage.  He's owned the plane since April.

PEMBROKE, N.Y. — Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha held a press conference this morning on the murder of Joseph E. Benaquist in Pembroke last night. Maha announced the imminent arrest of Scott F. Doll, who is in the process of being charged with second-degree murder.

Please see our earlier post for the full details.

PEMBROKE, N.Y. — A Corfu man who was found walking along North Lake Road in Pembroke soaked in "fresh blood" will be charged with the murder of a Pembroke man who was found bludgeoned to death in the driveway of his home early this morning, Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said.

Scott F. Doll, 46, of 31 E. Main St., Corfu, will be charged with a felony count of second-degree murder in the death of Joseph E. Benaquist, 66, of 683 Knapp Road, Pembroke.

Deputies received a call last night at approximately 8:41 p.m. with reports of a "suspicious person" walking down North Lake Road in Pembroke. The individual, later identified as Doll, was "dressed all in camouflage" and carrying a car jack, a screwdriver and a lug wrench. When deputies arrived, they noticed that Doll's "clothes and sneakers were pretty well stained in what looked like fresh blood," said Maha.

"They asked him what was going on ... and the person was really quite evasive" said Maha. "The officers knew something wasn't right."

Deputies then determined that Doll had parked a van at a gas station on the corner of North Lake Road and Route 5. They found more blood inside the van and a pair of bloody gloves.

"So we had this person who was acting suspicious who had blood on him, so of course, we didn't buy his story, what he was telling us," said Maha. "So we started an investigation."

A relative of Doll's made comments that led officers to the home of Benaquist who was found dead "lying in a pool of blood in his driveway." Benaquist appeared to have suffered blunt trauma to the face and head.

Doll and Benaquist were acquaintances and "in business together" in an auto dealership that Maha believed to be located in Pembroke. The two men would purchase vehicles from an auction in Clarence, fix them up and then sell them, said Maha.

Doll is currently employed as a corrections officer at Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, Erie County. Benaquist had retired from the same facility, where he also worked as a corrections officer.

Maha said it is too early in the investigation to believe that the auto dealership was the cause of the homicide. No neighbors had reported a fight between the two men last night. But Benaquist's home is "out in the country," said Maha, at least a hundred yards from its nearest neigbor.

Doll has "at least" two children, plus a sister and a brother who live in the area, said Maha. Doll was sent to Genesee County Jail without bail.

The investigation is ongoing. We will get up video coverage of the press conference within the hour.

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Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha will hold a press conference this morning at 10:00 a.m. at the sheriff's office to "release the details of a homicide that occurred in the town of Pembroke" last night.

We will get up any additional details as they become available.

Update (10:02 a.m.): The Daily News reports this hour that a Corfu man, Scott F. Doll, 46, will be charged later this morning with the murder of Joseph E. Benaquiste, 66. Benaquiste was found "bludgeoned to death" in the driveway of his Pemborke home early this morning.

An article in the Democrat & Chronicle this morning reports that Rochester's Fox affiliate will cut off its analog signal at midnight tonight. They will be the only Rochester-based station to shut down before the new switch date of June 12.

Feb. 17 was the original deadline for stations to switch from analog to digital, but earlier this month Congress voted to allow stations to postpone the move until June 12, giving households with rabbit-ear antennas more time to obtain a digital converter box. An estimated 15 percent of Rochester-area homes needed the converter boxes. Those that do not have a converter box will not be able to get WUHF after midnight.

Are you ready for the switch?

Lindsi Fauth, 19, of Corfu, was charged with eight counts of petit larceny Sunday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Fauth is accused of voiding purchases for her friends and herself on several occasions while she worked as a cashier at the Target store in Batavia. Voided merchandise totaled some $361.

Matthew S. Fenton, 22, of Elba, was charged with driving while intoxicated early this morning, city police said. Fenton was located on State Street, where he had allegedly crashed into a parked car. He was also ticketed with moving from the lane unsafely and open container of an alcoholic beverage.

 The Batavia boys basketball team just couldn't compete with Irondequoit's inside and outside game Monday night and were blown out by host Irondequoit 66-41 in the opening round of the Monroe County League Tournament.

Class AAA powerhouse Irondequoit had a size advantage at every position on the floor and never trailed in the game.

Batavia has no player over 6-foot-2 while the Eagles have seven of that height or taller, including 6-8 big man Jordan Heath.

Tyler Condello opened the game with a pair of foul shots and Chris Culver drained a 3-pointer as Irondequoit led 5-0 to start the contest. Rob Hoy hit a jumper and Joe Schlossel scored twice to keep the game close early. When Marcus Hoy hit a pair of free throws with about two minutes left, Batavia only trailed 11-8.

But Heath scored twice before another Schlossel bucket and the Eagles led 15-11 after the opening eight minutes.

Jeremy Jackson and Heath both scored at the opening of the second quarter to extend the lead to nine points. Rob Hoy hit a 3 and Marcus Hoy and Dakota Irvin hit a bucket to cut the deficit to four points midway through the period.

But Culver hit a trey and Heath scored twice to extend the lead to 11. Irondequoit had a 30-21 lead at intermission.

Schlossel had three baskets early in the second half, but the Eagles matched before going on a 11-2 run to end the frame. Culver was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and connected on all three attempts and then hit a jumper and a 3 before Kurt Soppe scored to make the score 47-31 going into the fourth quarter.

Heath dunked twice in the fourth quarter to put the nail in the coffin. He ended the game with 24 points and eight rebounds with Culver finishing up with 19 points and seven assists. Jackson had nine rebounds as Irondequoit (18-1) will play Rush-Henrietta (17-2) in the finals on Wednesday.

Schlossel had 14 points to lead the Blue Devils (16-3), who will try to avenge two regular season losses to Pittsford Sutherland (15-4) in the consolation game Wednesday.

Marcus Hoy had 11 points and seven dimes and leading scorer Andrew Hoy was held to six points, but grabbed seven boards.

BATAVIA, NY -- It's cold. There are still patches of snow on the ground with more fluffy showers predicted for this week. But it's not too early to start thinking about spring.

In Arizona and Florida, pitchers and catchers have reported. And Friday Muckdogs faithful gather for the team's annual hot stove league dinner.

But before we look toward a new season, let's reflect once more on an incredible 2008 Muckdogs season.

How incredible? According to Brian Walton of Scout.com, it was remarkable in a number of significant ways.

With a record of 46-28 (.622) the Muckdogs posted the best winning percentage of any team in the St. Louis Cardinals system.

It was Batavia's first championship since 1963 and the first New York-Penn League championship for a Cardinal's affiliate since 1994.

The last Cardinals New York-Penn League affiliate to post a better record than the Muckdogs was the 1992 Hamilton (Ontario) Redbirds. That club went 56-20 (.737). Ironically, their manager was the current leader of the Memphis Redbirds, Chris Maloney.

No Cardinals minor league club at any level had registered a better record than the .622 2008 Muckdogs in the last 15 years! It is tops in the entire system since the 1993 Savannah Cardinals of the Single-A Sally League had a .662 winning percentage (94-48).

For more on the record setting season, read all of Brian's post.

Don't miss Friday's dinner. The 2008 season is well worth Batavians remembering, and we look forward to a great season in 2009 thanks to the Cardinals and Red Wings' organizations.

Apologies. This statement on the details of the power outage at United Memorial Medical Center Friday went overlooked by me. I had sent a request early in the afternoon that day asking to be updated on the status of the outage. Last I had heard at that point, all of the surgeries for the day had been cancelled and incoming patients were being sent elsewhere. That was around noon.

This mail was sent around 6 o'clock Friday evening:

Early this morning, United Memorial was made aware of potentially dangerous power issues at the North Street Campus. A transfer switch which allows approximately 75% of the Hospital’s electrical needs to move to generator power, failed.

While the Hospital was operational and functioning “on the grid” using regular electrical service, the lack of a redundancy system required the cancellation of all surgeries and placed the Emergency Department on diversion. All incoming ambulances were diverted to Millard Fillmore Suburban and other area hospitals.

In order to diagnose and correct the power issue, United Memorial went “off the grid” and was without power for approximately 16 minutes beginning at 12:20 pm today. This allowed crews to convert to a temporary manual switching system. In preparation for this event, United Memorial worked with the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, City of Batavia Fire and Police, and the Department of Health to insure patient safety. Mobile generators and temporary lighting were brought in for critical electrical power needs and an internal labor pool was established to address issues due to the lack of elevator and computer services. Quality Management discharged patients that were expected to go home today prior to the power interruption and patient meals were delivered before elevator services were disconnected. A notice was also sent to all members of the Medical Staff alerting them to the situation.

This afternoon, electrical crews worked to move two operating rooms off of the manual switching system over to an automatic transfer switch. In an unexpected power failure due to circumstances such as weather or an accident, this conversion will allow generator power to become effective in a matter of seconds; with a manual transfer to generator power, 3-5 minutes are necessary. This conversion was completed by 5:15 pm today and the Hospital ended the diversion of ambulances. United Memorial is now operating at its regular capacity.

A permanent replacement of the faulty transfer switch should occur in the next 2-3 weeks when the customized part becomes available. There were no negative impacts to patient care during this incident and the Hospital would like to express their gratitude to the staff of United Memorial, the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management, City of Batavia Fire and Police Departments, our patients and visitors who worked cooperatively with patience and understanding while we attended to a potential life safety issue.

Everywhere I go I see people texting or talking on their cell phones. Now the craze of constantly checking each other’s status has gone to the next level. Technology today offers numerous ways to not only stay connected to friends and family, but to keep a constant eye on them, to know wherever they are, whenever.

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Google launched Latitude, a location-tracking service that uses GPS hardware found in smart phones to pinpoint your real-time position on a map and share that information with friends. The program seems simple to download: enter your cell phone number and wait for the link to arrive to your phone.

Seventeen-year-old Oakfield resident Justin Potter said he would love to try the new Google Latitude application. “Cool, I would love to check this out,” Potter said after he heard what Latitude was all about.

Before users are able to see where their friends are, they must first have an account with Google, have Latitude downloaded, and make sure their phone is compatible. Potter was eager to try it. Unfortunately, his cell phone was not compatible, and the only other way he could use the program was through his computer at home.

“I would rather have it on my cell phone,” Potter said, disappointed.

Even though Potter wasn’t able to download Latitude to his phone, he said this would be an easier way to connect with his friends.“I will definitely check out this program,” he said, adding that his friends would likely enjoy it, too.

At first, Potter thought that anyone would be able to track his location. Latitude’s maps shows the user’s location, marked with a picture of the person that has been uploaded onto their Google account. But users must add friends and then send an invite, similar to the friend request system used with Myspace and Facebook. Your friends must accept before you can track their location.

Batavia resident Alicia Philips, 40, screamed with excitement about using Latitude.

“Heck yes! I would love to use this,” she said. “This would be so beneficial, especially in case of an emergency.” Phillips is the mother of three and said she would love to use it as another means to find out exactly where her children are.

Google gives the user three privacy settings: a user's location can be updated automatically, manually updated, or they can hide their location from friends. And, of course, they can always just turn Latitude off.

Not everyone is so enthusiastic, however. A "privacy" group based in the UK that goes by the name of Privacy International issued a full statement on what they found to be a major security flaw with the program: the potential for a third party to hack into the program. The group's conclusion sounds damning:

Privacy International believes Google has created an unnecessary danger to the privacy and security of users. It is clear the company is aware of the need to create a message alert on Latitude-enabled phones but has chosen to launch the service without universal access to this safeguard. The Director of Privacy International, Simon Davies, said:

"Many people will see Latitude as a cool product, but the reality is that Google has yet again failed to deliver strong privacy and security. The company has a long way to go before it can capture the trust of phone users."

"As it stands right now, Latitude could be a gift to stalkers, prying employers, jealous partners and obsessive friends. The dangers to a user’s privacy and security are as limitless as the imagination of those who would abuse this technology."

As to be expected, Google was swift to respond.

“We recognize the sensitivity of location data, so we've built fine-grained privacy controls right into the application,” Vic Gundtra, Google's VP of engineering wrote in a blog post. 

The program can be installed at Google Latitude.

Latitude is currently available in 27 countries, and Google hopes to expand. The program is free but there may be carrier charges. Phones that are enabled to use this program include: T-mobile Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Motorola, Nokia, Nokia S60, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Windows Mobile.

State police have made several arrests after setting up a permiter patrol at the site of the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in Clarence Center.

On Friday morning, police charged Thomas Woodman, 19, of Clarence, with trespassing. Troopers located Woodman allegedly hiding behind a residence on Long Road, where he was attempting to video tape the crash site.

That same day, in the afternoon, Paul R. Brenton, 63, of Clarence, was charged with disorderly conduct. Brenton is accused of wandering into the restricted area while he was allegedly intoxicated. He had to be restrained, according to police, to be kept from entering the crash site.

State police also reported that a third individual was charged with a DWI at a roadblock set up nearby.

From the Genesee County Democrats:

The Genesee County Democratic Party held their Annual Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance at Sacred Heart Hall on Saturday, February 14th.  Under the Chairmanship of Lew Henning of Batavia, this annual event brought together party faithful and elected officials from across Western New York.  As part of a GLOW County commitment program, Democrats joined from Genesee, Livingston, Wyoming Counties as well as Erie County to celebrate the past successful elections.

“We are very excited about our local, statewide and national elections this past November,” declared Lorie Longhany, Genesee County Democrat Party Chair.  “It is great to be here celebrating with all those that worked hard on that election.  I am also pleased that we are able to share that success with our surrounding Democrat Party leaders and elected officials.”

The Master of Ceremonies for the event was City of Batavia Council President Charles Mallow.  Music and entertainment were provided.  “This year we will be working hard on our local races, including the City of Batavia At-Large Council Seats,”declared Mallow.  “Now is the time to move forward, assess issues and work hard to insure the best possible government for our constituents.”

Democrats are expected to announce their slate of candidates in late spring or early summer.  All County Legislature Seats are up as well as City Council At-Large Seats.

Big winners of the evening were Raymond Yacuzzo of LeRoy, who won the 50/50 Drawing and Margaret Kapperman of Batavia, winner of the Door Prize.