Jill Terreri writes in the D&C this morning that voters who decline to register with any political party is a growing part of the electorate and will help decide elections next month.

Registered voters who choose not to become a member of any political party are poised to decide the winner of this year's presidential contest between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, which will be decided Nov. 4. Precincts across the country are seeing an increase in their ranks, and both candidates are making appeals specifically to them.

"The candidate that wins an election is the one that connects with moderates and the middle class," said John P. Avlon, author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. "Independent voters ... are the common-sense center in America."

Reports out of Connecticut and Fort Collins, Colo. show new voter registrations in both major parties this year were outpaced by voters who chose not to register in any party. And in such states as New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, Iowa, Alaska and New Hampshire, unaffiliated voters have outnumbered either Democrats or Republicans.

In the local congressional race, both campaigns say they're paying close attention to independent voters.

Locally, the unaffiliated voter's role is significant even in races in which one party has an enrollment advantage.

In the 26th Congressional District, which includes nine towns in western Monroe County, registered Republicans have a 9 percentage-point advantage over Democrats, constituting 41 percent of voters. But one out of every five voters is unaffiliated, according to enrollment statistics released earlier this year, giving those ranks the power to decide the winner.

"It's incredibly important to communicate to these people," said Nick Langworthy, who is running the campaign of Republican Chris Lee, of Clarence, Erie County, who is seeking to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Thomas Reynolds, also of Clarence. "If you just play to your base, you can't do it, not in the modern political era."

To appeal to these voters, Langworthy and his team try to send an appropriate message.

"We're talking about jobs and taxes," he said. "Those themes are strong with Republicans and independents."

On the Democratic side, candidate Alice Kryzan of Amherst, Erie County, has been reaching outside her party, stressing the economy and bringing accountability back to Washington, said her campaign manager, Anne Wadsworth.

So here's my question for Nick Longworthy: The Chris Lee campaign has been far more negative far longer than the Kryzan campaign. How do negative ads help you win independent votes?  As a decade-long independent, I know they sure do turn me off, and same for all my non-aligned friends.  Maybe that's why this race is now a toss up?

The DCCC has a new anti-Chris Lee ad out, recycling the same in-correct "send jobs to China" charge, even using some of the same images, but this time with actors making the charges.

Chris Lee's ad is no more honorable, and maybe worse since it ends with "I'm Chris Lee and I approve this message."

The ad incorrectly points the finger at Alice Kryzan for running the "China Jobs" spot (that was the DCCC, not the Kryzan campaign), and trouts out the same old tired, trite and meaningless "liberal trial lawyer" attack.

Here's another incendiary ad from Lee:

Regardless of what Kryzan may have said about special interest money in the primary, it's duplicitous of Lee to knock Kryzan for taking contributions from any group, since his record isn't exactly spotless.

Here's a new attack ad on Kryzan from the RCCC:

I find it scary whenever a politician attacks another for doing his or her job and providing a defense in any legal case (or a prosecution). When you level that charge what you are saying is you don't believe in the American legal system -- that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Also, it's a complete fiction that Kryzan has said she wants to raise taxes.

It kind of makes you despair for our future to watch these two campaigns -- aided and abetted by their respective national parties -- resort to distortions and misinformation to try and win a congressional seat.

WNYMedia.net caught up with Erie County Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan to get his take on NY-26 race between Alice Kryzan and no show Candidate Chris Lee.

I met Alice Kryzan at the Octoberfest in Oakfield last night. I was impressed. She's an intelligent, well-spoken, sincere candidate. I think she does have the best interest of Western New York at heart.

And all along, I've liked the fact that she's tried to keep the campaign to issues, focused on what she will do and avoid negative attack ads.  Her spokeswoman, Anne Wadsworth, has said Alice doesn't like the nasty DCCC-sponsored ad running against Republican Chris Lee.

So, it's disappointing to check YouTube this morning and find the ad embedded below.

There are two charges in the video that do not withstand scrutiny. First, that Lee thinks "the guys who messed things up" should be able to take even more risks. Second, "Lee says keep doing what we're doing."

Here's what Lee told us a couple of weeks ago:

When I asked him about how Democrats blame deregulation, and Republicans say there are still too many regulations -- such as Sarbanes-Oxley, which did nothing to help matters -- Lee said, "We have all of these new exotic financial instruments, so we need updated regulations to ensure we have control."

"There have mistakes made, and I don't like to point fingers," said Lee, adding again that both Republicans and Democrats share the blame. "I don't care about any of that. I care about getting to a solution and protecting taxpayers."

Those word directly contradict the assertion that Lee wants to "protect the guys who messed things up" and that he wants to "keep doing what we're doing."

Alice, if you disagree Lee's policies -- not that we have too much information on what Lee's policies are -- say so, but don't make things up. It reflects worse on you than Lee.

P.S.: To whomever produces Alice's commercials, Kudos. From a production values stand point they're absolutely stunning.  I don't think I've seen a shoddy commercial from Kryzan's campaign yet.  Lee's campaign would do well to hire the same firm.

With a little more than one week to go, the election is all that is being talked about here in New Smyrna Beach.    On Friday afternoon, Joe Biden's wife Jill visted our community.    More than 500 people showed up to hear her and fill the room.   She had to be interrupted at least 20 times with applause.  Early voting here in Volusia County has hit 27,000 in the first week with another week to go.   That would be 10% of the number of people who voted four years ago.   There are another 40,000 voters who have applied for absentee votes and I think about 30,000 have already been returned.  

I was in the early voting site in Deltona, Fl on Saturday.   More than 1,200 people voted.  They had to wait in line for more that one and one-half hours to get their ballot.   At this site there was a very large hispanic turnout.  All the polls in this area point to an Obama victory, but this is Florida!

Paul Weiss

Go Bills

Checking in at number 10 on the Holland Land Office Museum's ongoing list of 25 Things that Made Genesee County Famous is Dean Richmond.

The name Richmond still plays a prominent role in Batavia. There is the library, of course, but there is also the impressive looking family tomb in the Batavia Cemetary on Harvester Avenue.

Too bad his grand old mansion was torn down by the school board (the school board!?) after the board purchased the building in 1966 and the failed in an attempt to annex the Richmond Library. Where the Greek Revival structure once stood (311 East Main St.) is ... a parking lot. (I think they call that progress.)

But back to dear old Dean.

Mr. Richmond, according to HOLM, was born in 1804 in Barnard, Vermont. He was the son of an entrepreneur, but was forced to make his own way in life at age 14, when his father died.  He turned his father's money-losing business into a profitable one, and eventually used his growing wealth to invest in the emerging railroad business.

Dean Richmond is best known in railroad circles as the first person in America to advocate the use of steel rails for the construction of railroads. An order was placed in England for the steel rails for a test run, but the tests were completed after Richmond died. The tests were successful and the steel industry grew out of the demand for the product by the railroad.

While Richmond was president of the New York Central, he demanded that all trains stop in Batavia. In 1866, the year of Richmond’s death, more than 3.7 million travelers rode on the train line. Not all of those people stopped in Batavia, but a fair share did, and because of Richmond, Batavia became a terminal and a gateway to the west.

Among the passengers who road through Batavia, according to Patrick Weissend, was Abraham Lincoln -- both on his way to assume the presidency in Washington, D.C., and his casket was carried through Genesee County when his body was returned to Springfield, Ill. In both cases, the name of the engine that transported Mr. Lincoln was the Dean Richmond.

The Buffalo History Works site quotes this passage about the train's pass through Batavia from the Buffalo Morning Express:

The funeral train was met at Batavia yesterday morning by the Committee from this city which included Honorable Millard Fillmore. The Committee left here at 6:00 o'clock Wednesday evening by a special car provided for their accommodation, passing the night at Batavia. At 5:00 o'clock yesterday morning, the funeral train arrived at that point, where it was received, as at every halting point along the line of its long, sad journey, by an immense concourse of people. The assemblage had begun with the very dawn, when the firing of the minute guns awoke the village from its slumbers and hastened the steps of pilgrims from the surrounding country flocking in. Before the train appeared, it had grown to the proportions of a city throng.

The multitude stood with their heads bowed, silent, sorrowful and reverent, paying that sincere homage to the dead which had everywhere been so memorable and remarkable. The pause of the train was but for ten minutes, during which the committee from Buffalo took their places in the car reserved for them. From thence to this city no halt on the journey was made but at every station and almost continuously the train passed between long lines of people, who had come to catch but a floating glimpse of what bore the remains of their beloved President; and everywhere they bowed, with uncovered heads, in afflicting bestowment of their little passing tribute of solemn reverence.

Here's something additional I just found: The wreckage of the Dean Richmond, a freighter on the Lake Erie that went down in a storm in 1893. Here's a 1872 article from the New York Times about a fire aboard the very same steamer. Actually, maybe those are not the same boats. This article says there were for Great Lakes steamers named the Dean Richmond -- all met similar fates.  The link contains a picture of the fourth one.

Notre Dame is going to get another crack at Dundee, this time in the Section 5 Class D finals, after thumping Perry 56-0 Saturday at Don Quinn Field in East Rochester.

Dundee beat the Fighting Irish 18-13 last year and the two squads will be facing each other next Saturday at PAETEC Park. 

This Saturday's game was never a contest as the Yellowjackets couldn't move the ball or stop Notre Dame from getting into the end zone.

A Craig Houseknecht sack on the first offensive possession for Perry wound up forcing a three-and-out. Kevin Francis returned the punt 36 yards to the Perry 21 and just a couple of plays later, Mike Pratt ran it in from 15 yards out for the first score of the game.

Pratt then recovered a Perry fumble and a facemask penalty moved the ball deep into Yellowjacket territory. Nick Bochicchio tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Francis to finish off that drive.

Francis intercepted Perry quarterback James Devitt and the Fighting Irish were back at it again after the 25-yard return. Pratt scored from 14 yards out this time.

After the teams exchanged turnovers, Pratt broke a 40-yard run for a score to make it 28-0 near the end of the first quarter. He also had an interception in the final seconds of the first period.

Kevin Schildwaster had a 6-yard TD, Bochicchio tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rick Lair and R.J. Marchese dove in from 1-yard out and the score was 49-0 at halftime.

Notre Dame called off the dogs in the second half and everybody got into the game. The only score after the break was a Schildwaster 12-yard run.

The Fighting Irish out-rushed the Yellowjackets 259-31 and were led by Pratt, who gained 109 yards with the three scores on just nine carries.

Schildwaster ran the ball 11 times for 58 yards and two TDs and Marchese had three touches for 25 yards and a score.

Perry ends up 4-4 while the Fighting Irish improve to 6-2 and advance to the finals.

A Republican elections commissioner in Erie County has sent a letter to the Genesee County district attorney asking for a local investigation into Citizens for Fiscal Integrity.

Ralph M. Mohr alleges that:

G. Steven Pigeon laundered thousands of dollars from Buffalo Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano’s political committee and others in an attempt to conceal the origin and circumvent contribution limits, in violation of state election law.

...

“It has become apparent that the committee operating under the name Citizens for Fiscal Integrity may be participating in a nefarious and deliberate scheme to circumvent the financial reporting requirements of the election law,” Mohr wrote.

Any resulting probe could affect the Democratic campaign of State Senate candidate Joe Mesi, who benefited from Pigeon’s committee. Mohr produced a Responsible New York check signed by Golisano and designated on the memo line for “consulting” in the 61st District primary, in which Golisano supported Mesi.

According to Associated Press writer Devlin Barrett, New York's GOP leaders are girding for a slaughter on election day.

Several GOP congressional seats in the state could be lost.

"We are going to see a loss of House seats," said Rep. Tom Reynolds, a western New York Republican and power-broker who decided not to seek re-election this year. "The pendulum is coming and it's knocking a lot of people off their horses."

...

When Reynolds came to Congress in 1998, he was one of 13 New York Republicans. This year, he is one of six. In a few months, it could be four, three, or even two. The only truly safe GOP House seats in New York are held by John McHugh in the North Country and Peter King on Long Island.

There are many reasons for the fall: increasing Democratic registration, an unpopular Republican president, and a weakening of the state's conservative organization.

A Rasmussen poll shows that across the country, Democrats are leading Republicans in generic congressional races.

UPDATE: Rasmussen is calling the 26th district, where Republicans enjoy a registration advantage, a "toss up."

This week, thousands of voters across the 26th District received the 2008 AARP Voters' Guide, detailing the candidates' positions on a number of important issues.  Alice stands proudly with the AARP on protecting Social Security, improving the financial security of hardworking families, and making health care more affordable for all Americans.  Once again, Chris Lee takes no stand at all.

Lee refused to attend the AARP candidates' forum even though they tried to arrange a date around his schedule, and did not respond to the AARP's questions about his stand on health care, Medicare, and Social Security.  He continues to avoid taking positions on the issues important to the people of Western New York, hiding behind another lying attack ad released this week that derided people in the district as "extremist."

"While Alice stands with working families, Chris Lee only talks about more deregulation and more risk," said campaign spokesperson Anne Wadsworth. "He wants to continue the policies that led to this financial crisis, and he wants to make health care work like the financial industry. Those policies might help Chris Lee and his Wall Street friends, but they'll hurt the hardworking families of Western New York."

Alice has also been endorsed by the Alliance for Retired Americans. She will be a strong defender of Social Security in Congress, making sure that it will be there for all seniors. If people work hard and play by the rules, they should be able to earn a decent wage, provide for their families, and build a better future.

"We live in the greatest country in the world. We can and must have a society that works for all Americans," said Alice. "In Congress, I will be an independent voice for the hardworking families of this district, making sure that they achieve the security and prosperity they have worked so hard to earn."

Here's an MP3 of a radio station interview with Bill Kauffman about his book on Luther Martin.

A little outdated, but I just found this article by Bill in The American Conservative on last month's "Bill Kauffman Day" at Dwyer Stadium.

Then there is the more recent TAC column about Lucine Kauffman, town supervisor of Elba. (to follow that link, you need to sign up or a temporary free account -- pretty painless -- and then be able to download the PDF).

The Republicans are indulgent of Lucine’s non-Republican husband, but then in a healthy society politics plays so small a role in our lives that who really gives a damn how others vote? Cold ideologies melt in the warmth of daily communal life.

I think of the local civic organizations in which, say, Assembly of God churchgoers and gays work side by side in the cheerful labor of neighbors. They can be friends because they are, to each other, rounded and fully dimensional. They are people, not cartoons.

This is nigh impossible in larger places, where such disparate folk would never meet and would exist to each other only on the flat screen of the TV set. Instead of Kate and Dave they would be “Religious Nut!” and “Fag!” How dreary. How lifeless. How very Red and Blue.

If you can, read the whole thing -- it's full of Bill's usual wit and fine writing.

The Republican Party has been taken over by a bunch of kooks"-Barry Goldwater.

Since I was a small child I remember watching with a certain awe the political audacity and committment to which Western New Yorkers, especially in my home county of Genesee, committed themselves to not only political candidates but their ideas as well. Everywhere I went growing up, whether it was in Dunkin Donuts or the grocery store everyone had an opinion around election time. No matter who you were for, you were for someone and you had an opinion on everyone.

Why then, is this predominantly Republican county now registering more Democrats than Republicans? Why are even Republicans coming in our small, rural county committee's office asking for Obama/Biden, Mesi and Kryzan signs?

Perhaps their just not falling for the same old tired talking points anymore, maybe they realize what an aged Barry Goldwater said during the rise of the Religious Right (see above quote)......

We have two major competitive races in our county, one for State Senate and one for Congress. In our State Senate race we have a 20+ year incumbent Erie County legislator, a legislator who was also the biggest proponent of the policies of the Joel Giambra administration. These policies caused a bit of a crisis because Erie County, well, see, they ran out of money. He often quips that he "never voted for a tax increase,". The record shows this is true, however, he bullied those same policies through the Erie County Legislature that caused a fiscal collapse and constituted the need for massive tax increases. What Ranzenhofer is saying, in short, is this...."I caused the problem but I don't want a solution,". Nice, real nice.

On the other hand, in our Congressional race, we have Christopher J. Lee. A nice fellow and a businessman, it's true that his company does have some factories here in Western New York. Even so, his company did have manufacturing facilities in China, a fact that he tried to hide numerous times before being confronted on it during a debate, when finally being backed into a wall, Lee called it a "business policy" with something about assembling being done in China but not manufacturing. Disingenuous much? Politics of parsing on overdrive.

It finally seems that even in a deep red county like Genesee County, people are starting to pull the Democratic lever despite being traditionally Republican for years, that same opinionated attitude may very well be the downfall of a once very dominant rural Western New York Republican base.

Maybe its health care, maybe its education, maybe its the war in Iraq, maybe its the economy.

Or maybe, just maybe, the good and normally Republican voters in Genesee County have had it with the state of their party, because it's been "taken over by a bunch of kooks,"

You don't see a lot of games like the one between Dansville and Oakfield-Alabama Friday night.

A close game early turned into an offense show as the second-seeded Hornets knocked off the seven seed 63-34.

Jon Fisher set the Section 5 record for most extra points kicked in a game with nine, both Tim Smith and Brad Riner had huge games and the Hornets are moving on to the semifinals, where they will either see Pembroke or Bishop Kearney.

Smith had 333 all-purpose yards, including 196 on the ground. He also scored six touchdowns, which is one shy of the Section 5 playoff single game record. Riner gained 178 yards with two TDs on 13 carries.

After a three-and-out, O-A had a six minute drive to start things off, with Tim Smith scoring on a 20-yard scamper.

The Hornets recovered the onside kick, Smith broke a couple more runs and then scored from 3-yards out.

But the Mustangs were definitely not going to back down.

Dansville had a nice drive of its own, marching 65 yards behind the passing of Garrett Hoag, but couldn't convert on a fourth-and-goal at the 5-yard line.

Oakfield-Alabama started moving the ball and then made a mistake, coughing the ball up and giving the Mustangs some solid starting field position. Dansville quickly capitalized as Hoag tossed a 21-yard TD pass to Jordan VanDunk.

A 20-yard run by Riner led to a 9-yard touchdown run by Smith with two minutes left in the half, giving O-A a 21-7 advantage.

After the Mustangs went three-and-out, the Hornets were looking to run out the clock and go into halftime with the two-score advantage.

But Dansville called a timeout when Oakfield-Alabama had a fourth-and-4 with five seconds left on the clock. The move might have been to try and cause a turnover or maybe they thought O-A would punt, but coach John Dowd and company decided to take advantage of the coaching blunder.

Quarterback A.J. Kehlenbeck gave the ball to Smith on a screen and the senior worked his way 46 yards into the end zone, making it 28-7 at the break.

Riner was impressive in the third quarter as the Hornets received the opening kickoff and he quickly had a 48-yard touchdown run. Dansville scored on a touchdown pass to Matt Schuster to get within 21 points, but Riner's next carry went 57 yards for another score.

The Hornets recoverd the onside kick, then Smith scored his fifth touchdown of the game on a 50-yard run.

Schuster had an 80-yard touchdown run for Dansville and Josh Athoe scored from 2-yards out for Oakfield-Alabama, making the score 56-21 after three quarters of play.

Hoag tossed a 61-yard touchdown pass to VanDunk, Smith returned a kickoff 91 yards for a score and Tim Rauber got a Dansville touchdown to end the game.

Noah Seward led the defensive effort with eight tackles.

O-A improves to 8-0 and will get the winner of Saturday's game between No. 3 Pembroke and No. 6 Bishop Kearney.

Kearney knocked the Hornets out of the playoffs last year and the Dragons are O-A's league rival, which they beat 25-24 in the regular season.

 The Batavia football team thought it found something about Geneva that would give them an advantage last week, but apparently the Panthers were the ones that got the information in the regular season finale.

Top seeded Geneva put an end to No. 8 Batavia's season in convincing fashion, winning the Class B opener 41-6.

Last week, the Panthers had success throwing the ball and this week they did it with the run game.

Shamar Bridges rushed for 118 yards with three touchdowns and quarterback Bobby Martin added 102 yards and a score on 12 attempts. He also completed 8-of-14 pass attempts for 85 yards and a TD.

Rob Williams had the only Batavia touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Blue Devils fall to 3-5 and are eliminated from the playoffs.

The Attica football team heard all week about how the program has only one sectional game victory in its history and that they had no chance of beating third-seeded East Rochester/Gananda.

They proved a lot of people wrong Friday night, picking up a historic 18-0 road victory.

"This is huge," coach Jeff Cusmano said. "It isn't a big secret that we have struggled in sectionals. Some of our guys were getting sick of hearing about it and they made an effort today to put their foot down and make history for Attica football."

The gameplan for the Blue Devils was simple - keep the ball out of the hands of Neil Dotterer, who is one of the best quarterbacks in Section 5 history.

It worked.

"We decided to try and keep the ball away from Dotterer," Cusmano said. "We tried to play smash-mouth football and get 3-4 yards per carry and keep the ball away from him. We were successful in doing that."

Andy Ruddock got the call and answered. The GR all-star running back rushed the ball a whopping 37 times for 164 yards to help Attica sustain long drives and keep the ball away from ER/Gananda's high powered offense.

"He showed us that he can carry the load," Cusmano said. "He keeps plugging along."

The only thing that Ruddock didn't do was get in the end zone.

Quarterback Brandon Rollins tossed two touchdown passes to Shawn Dupuis and Dave Jennings had a touchdown run late in the game.

The sixth-seeded Blue Devils (5-3) will get the winner of Saturday's game between Bath and Palmyra-Macedon next week.

Larry S. Yoho, 36, of 111 Liberty St. (Room G), Batavia, was charged with second-degree menacing and second-degree criminal trespass Thursday morning, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Yoho is accused of entering a home on East Main Street Road while the occupants were sleeping and threatening the property and the individuals. Yoho also allegedly swung a hammer at the individuals in the home. He was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $2,000 bail. An order of protection was issued for the residents.

James J. Preedom, 24, of 18 East Ave., Batavia, was charged with first-degree criminal contempt and second-degree harassment Thursday for an incident that occurred Wednesday, city police said. Preedom is accused of harassing an individual who held an order of protection against him. He was sent to Genesee County Jail without bail, pending a court appearance this morning.

I know it’s early, but let's start thinking about Holiday Shopping!

The Holland Land Office Museum is proud to announce the arrival of the fourth building in the Custom Wood Gift series. On November 1, 2008 the next building, the Old City Hall / Brisbane Mansion will be available at the Museum Store inside the Holland Land Office Museum.

The 5 inch by 7 inch gift features the old City Hall on the front and a history of the building on the back.

Here is the building history from the back:

Brisbane Mansion / City Hall
Batavia, New York

The Brisbane Mansion was built in 1853 by George Brisbane, the son of Batavia’s first merchant. The Brisbane family donated the mansion to the city and assumed it would be razed for a city park.

On February 5, 1918, Ellicott Hall which was serving as city headquarters burned to the ground.

After the fire, City Council decided the Brisbane Mansion would serve as City Hall. Frank Homelius drew up plans for remodeling and the Mansion opened as the new City Hall on September 28, 1918.

In 2004, City Hall was moved from this building to the new City Centre.

The Brisbane Mansion is part of the Genesee County Historic District and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

This is the fourth building available. The others are the Holland Land Office Museum, the Richmond Mansion and the old Genesee County Courthouse.

See the entire collection at http://www.hollandlandoffice.com/museum_store_woodgifts.htm

Call the Holland Land Office Museum at (585) 343-4727 to preorder yours today.

BUILD YOUR OWN BATAVIA!

Maybe you've seen those yellow stickers stuck to the gas pump by the county's department of Weights and Measures, and maybe—like me—you've asked yourself: What does that mean? Who is this Donald D. Luxon fellow? What is he measuring? What is his sticker worth and why can't it be detached? Earlier this week, I set out to answer those question.

Let's start with the easy answer: Weights and Measures weighs and measures. Very funny, you say. But it's true. OK, so let's back up then...

Donald Luxon is the department's director. He's been with them for nine years or so now, ever since he left Eastman Kodak Co. He admits to me that he wishes he had always had this job though. He loves it. And why shouldn't he? He gets out and works with people all over the county all year long. He gets to play with cool equipment, like tolerance measures and apothecary weights. Plus, he's a one-man show.

On a given day, you may find him out at the gas pumps of any station in the county, measuring fuel. It works like this: He fills a five-gallon can with each grade of gas and measures what his can tells him against what the pump tells him was just dispensed. If they match up, great. If they don't, well... it depends. If the pumps are issuing too much gas—that is, if it's in the customer's favor, Luxon can't shut it down. But you can bet, he says, that the station will have that fixed pretty quickly. If the pump is issuing less fuel than it says, then the station owner is notified and the pump can be shut down if it isn't fixed. Luxon tells me that he has never had to fine anyone before, and folks always fix a problem once they're aware of it.

(In case you're wondering: the pumps are permitted a tolerance of plus or minus six cubic inches per five gallons, which is about 1,155 cubic inches total.)

Often, too, Luxon will take samples of the gas that he then sends to a lab in New Jersey to be tested for octane and to make sure there isn't too much of this or that in the gasoline. He says that there's never once been a failure in Genesee County since he took over the job nine years ago.

Such work also gives you a pretty good handle on how the pumps work. Luxon says he often hears folks say that the temperature outside ought to be a clue on when folks should fuel up because the gasoline will either expand or contract depending on how cold or warm it is. Sure, that's true to an extent, he says. But most of the gas is in big tanks underground where there are no significant shifts in temperature. Whether it's hot or cold outside will only really affect about the first half gallon of gas that's in the tube that runs from the handle back into the tank.

Another rumor that turns out has some merit to it is that folks shouldn't fuel up when they see a tanker filling up the underground tanks. It's believed that in filling up those enormous tanks, the gasoline gets all jostled about and some of the sediment and particulates at the bottom of the tank get stirred up and can end up in your tank. That's true, too, to an extent, says Luxon. It's a fine rule of thumb to keep away from the pumps when you see they're being refilled, but if you do fill up at that time, the chances that you'll get the crud in your tank are pretty slim.

Luxon's job isn't all about the gas pumps, though. He also checks other tanks: milk tanks. Just as often as he'll head out to a gas pump, he'll head to a dairy farm to make sure that a 10,000 gallon milk storage tank is really holding 10,000 gallons.

That's the measures side of the gig, but Luxon also does a lot with weights. In fact, he checks every single scale in every grocery store, quarry and pharmacy in the county: whether it's used to weigh a tomato, a trucker's haul, a slice of head cheese, a flank steak or a dose of valium.

City residents have been notified. Batavia is taking applications for positions on several of its boards and committees. We received a press release yesterday detailing the openings and the requirements for each volunteer position.

• Cable TV Advisory Board: There is one opening.
• Historic Preservation Commission: There is one opening. Any architects, historians, residents of a historic district or residents that have demonstrated a significant interest in the commitment to the field of historic preservation are encouraged to apply.
• Planning & Development Committee: There are three openings and one opening for an alternate member. Residents from Wards 2, 4, and 6 are needed.
• Zoning Board of Appeals: There are two openings. At least one resident from Ward 2 and 5 are needed. 

If you're interested or you want more information, contact City Clerk Heidi J. Parker at (585) 343-9221. You can also download an application from the city's Web site. Applications must be submitted to the clerk no later than November 21.

WBTA's Dan Fischer reports this morning that a worker at the Alliance Energy power plant in Batavia was injured last night when he became trapped under a garage door. The man has not been unidentified, but Fischer reports that he was working alone when he became trapped and used his cell phone to call for help. He was taken by Mercy Flight to Strong Memorial Hospital after being freed by Batavia fire crews. His injuries were thought to be serious, but he has since been examined and found to be "OK."