Last night, I had the privilege of attending a meeting of the Genesee County Legislature. It was not only my first visit, but the first session attended by the 4-H local government interns—check back with us this afternoon to hear more about that and hear their first impressions.

Before the meeting kicked off, I had a few minutes to chat with Legislator Charles Zambito. We talked about the upcoming county budget determinations and the worries over what will happen at the state level, since state funds make up such a huge portion of county funds. Zambito told me that this was not only a worry in Genesee County, but in counties all over the state. A minor budget cut at the state level becomes amplified for the counties, and some services and programs could face extinction if the cuts get severe. Nevertheless, he said, they will do their best to preserve.

Chairwoman Mary Pat Hancock spoke briefly about the recent meeting in Niagara Falls of the New York State Association of Counties. She was pleasantly surprised to see that so many folks could make it up to our neck of the woods. Many of those from downstate, it turned out, had never even been to the falls, let alone past the Hudson.

Hancock also spoke about the Genesee County Career Center, which lists jobs at all skill levels around the county. She mentioned a few last night for jobs such as machinist, office manager and nurse's aide. Right now, the Career Center posts its jobs on the America's Job Exchange site for New York, where you can search and apply for jobs all over the state.

This morning, I spoke with Jeanne Ianita at the Career Center, and we're going to see if The Batavian can host those job listings, as well. We'll let you know if that comes to pass.

As for the business portion of the meeting, all of the resolutions on the agenda were passed, including the approval of $15,000 for Mercy Flight for this past year's service. Mercy Flight has requested $20,000 for 2009.

Jeanine D. Fuller, 22, of 8 S. Main St., Batavia, was charged with a felony count of criminal possession of stolen property Wednesday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Fuller is accused of stealing a credit card and using it to to buy merchandise that was not authorized by the card holder. She was also charged with petit larceny and unlawful possession of personal identification information.

Jessica L. Pittler, 18, of Lockport, was charged with a felony count of second-degree forgery and a felony count of second-degree identity theft Wednesday, state police said. Pittler is accused of stealing a credit card from an acquaintance and making purchases that totalled nearly $630. She was sent to Niagara County Jail in lieu of $1,000 bail.

Genesee County was the site of several crashes over the past few days.

• Katelyn D. George, 17, of Byron, was driving along Bank Street Road in Elba Wednesday evening when she veered into the other lane and off the road, crashing into a pair of trees, deputies said.
• Zachary M. Rebert, 17, of Oakfield, was driving along Maple Avenue Tuesday afternoon when he failed to stop for a red light at the intersection of Route 63, deputies said. Rebert's vehicle crashed into the driver's side of a car driven by P. M. Leszczynski, 52, of Medina.
• Cassandra L. Ribbeck, 18, of 149 Oak St., Batavia, was driving along Beaver Road in Alexander Wednesday evening when she lost control of her truck, possibly driving too fast on wet roads, deputies said. Her truck hydroplaned and drove off the road, striking a fence post, continuing on through a field and striking an earth embankment where the truck was flipped up on its side.
• Breann Blackchief, 21, of Basom, and Tashina C. Abrams, 21, of Akron, were riding a pair of ATVs on Meadville Road in Alabama Tuesday evening when they crashed, deputies said. Blackchief had not noticed that Abrams had stopped and crashed into the back of her. Blackchief was ejected from the ATV, landing in the middle of the road.

There was no mention in the releases of any injuries. We put in a call to the sheriff's department to find out if there were inuries. We will report that information when it becomes available.

A water main downtown broke this morning leaving folks along Woodrow Road between Main Street and West Avenue without water service. WBTA's Dan Fischer reports that the city has no estimate on when service will be fully restored.

If you're looking to get a McCain-Palin sign to stick in your front lawn this election season, you will have to get in line. Genesee County's GOP headquarters reported that they have not been able to handle the demand for the signs, and they've run out. More should arrive Tuesday.

Are you ready for higher heating bills this winter?

The D&C reports that natural gas heating is expected to be 18 percent higher this season.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projected this week that Americans who heat with natural gas will pay an average of 18 percent more this winter than last.

In the Rochester region, where natural gas is the most common fuel for heating, this would mean the average consumer would pay $274 a month for a total of $1,370 from November through March, up more than $200 for the season.

Do you have conservation tips to share?

I think we'll be burning more wood.

Some folks head to the Bontrager Auction in Batavia to satsify their philately. Others go for the rhubarb pie, heaped thick and high with sweet gobs of cream. Some folks leave with a dusty tome tucked under their arm. Others shuffle off with a cherished cruet or crumhorn or gewgaw or whatnot. They've got a barn full of baubles and tents packed with trinkets, out there on Wortendyke Road. Enough, surely, for any good-souled and God-fearing American to find that special something to adorn that empty shelf at home and that vacant nook in the heart.

Not everyone, however, comes out for such trumpery. In fact, one beautiful, blonde, Batavian bookseller came out for a husband... and found one. She wasn't no newbie neither. She has been going to the auction house since she was a girl, buying boxes of books for a quarter. But let's let her tell the story...

Not too much to report out of the Daily News today. We picked up off WBTA this morning, today's big story about the "hazardous material scare" at a hospital in Medina. Today's other front-page story about the increase in voter enrollment was news on WBTA yesterday.

As for the story about the hazmat scare, there's still some questions unanswered. A woman, who remains unidentified, complained of coming in contact with a white powdery substance that gave her a rash when she opened an envelope that contained her telephone bill. Investigators say that "there was no hazardous substance." Not sure if we're to assume the woman was imagining the threat or if there was a powder, but it was benign. No matter. All is well.

Other than that, it's mostly feature news today. Reporter Joanne Beck writes about career day at the Batavia Middle School. It turns out that most pre-teen children are not interested in national politics. Huh. Who knew? Tom Rivers put together a piece on Mike Borkholder who was recently named the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County's "Friend of Extension." Matt Surtel has a couple articles in there about what's up in Warsaw.

That's about it.

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

Replacement of a bridge in Bergen should take about six weeks, and that means motorists will have to take a detour around the site on West Sweden Road, south of Warboys Road, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. That detour will take you seven miles out of the way, says Fischer. Looking at the map, it seems folks can take Route 19 if they're heading north or south west of that area. Route 237 runs the parallel in the east. Anyone know any other ways in and out of that area?

Medina Memorial Hospital in Orleans County was the site of a fortunate false alarm yesterday, when an unidentified woman was brought in to the emergency room for complaint of a rash contracted after she opened an envelope. Some 40 people had to undergo decontamination. The woman was kept in isolation until postal inspectors later determined that there was no contaminant in the envelope or on the telephone bill inside. Medina's hospital administrator called it good practice!

Has Jon Powers moved out of state without saying goodbye?  That appears to be the case.

Here's a Rochester Turning post on Powers being taken off the Working Families line:

Apparently, the move is now possible because Powers has moved out of the state. I can’t find that from any other news source, but if it is true, it is very disappointing. That, combined with his continued inability to just endorse Kryzan, is the kind of thing I would have expected from the Jack Davis campaign. But it seems all too clear now: Powers was in the race mostly for personal ambition and he’s just too bitter about losing to campaign for Alice Kryzan.

The Buffalo News reported Powers apparent relocation two days ago.

Alan Bedenko posted his thoughts, as well.

Who knows what's going on, but the fact that Democrat supporters are questioning events makes Powers quiet move out of state look sketchy. Was he really in this to make a difference for Western New York?

WHAM was in Batavia yesterday to cover a class project for 7th grader to interview their parents and others about the election. The big concern: the economy. Here's the video.

Ann Gavenda didn't only talk about the Elba History Barn when we met a few weeks back. She had some great stories to tell me about working in the muck on the Elba onion fields back in the 1940s, when her and the other girls ran into snakes, cigars, highly articulate Jamaicans and more dimes than you can shake a stick at—and she had the blisters to prove it. Without further ado:

A few weeks ago, I paid a visit to the new History Barn in Elba, built to store all the ancient farm equipment and other relics that were locked up in who knew how many barns all over the town and its environs. Ann Gavenda was kind enough to come down and tell me a bit about the town's new treasure and the treasures inside it. Here's what she told me:

Were you able to make out the price of a gallon of gas on the old Esso pump?

Ann didn't only tell me about the history barn. She told me a lot more about growing up in Elba and working in the muck fields. Please be sure to check out that video which should go up later this afternoon.

Rob Williams has been having one tremendous season so far for the Batavia football team.

Yet he hadn't won Section 5 Class B Player of the Week for offense or defense yet.

His numbers were hard to ignore from this past Friday's 32-13 win over Penn Yan and now the Batavia senior has been named Offensive Player of the Week this week.

Williams picked up 267 yards on the ground and scored a pair of touchdowns, while catching a pair of passes for 29 yards and returning two kickoffs for touchdowns, one for 90 yards and another for 94.

I spoke with coach Dan Geiger after the game it he was pretty confident that his tailback had to get the award this week.

"If he doesn't win it this week, they just aren't going to give it to him," said the coach.

Williams was held to just 17 yards on seven carries in the season opening loss to Le Roy, but has been putting up impressive numbers every week since.

He now has 878 yards on the ground with 10 touchdowns.

He has also been a star on defense and special teams.

He had an interception, two fumble recoveries and a big stop on a 2-point conversion play in a Week 2 loss against Pal-Mac.

Williams also had a 99-yard fumble recovery in a Week 4 win over Midlakes.

He's been having a great season in all three aspects of the game and could be in the running for Class B Player of the Year of Batavia keeps getting the job done on the field.

The Blue Devils are 3-2 and currently the No. 8 seed in Class B, with a great chance of making the sectional tournament.

From the sound of the article in today's Daily News about last night's meeting of the Charter Review Commission, that group doesn't know a whole lot about its government. Here we have a group of city residents come together to review the document that forms the backbone of city goverment, and Joanne Beck writes that "no one" even knows the responsibilities of the city clerk/treasurer. One member, John Deleo, wanted to scrap the position of assistant city manager before he even knew what it entailed. That same member admits flat out: "We're shifting a lot of responsibilties with the stroke of a pen without understanding what everyone does."

Wait a second... What!? Why would anyone who doesn't know what government staffers do be charged with the responsibility of deciding whether or not they should contintue to do it?

At the very least, shouldn't members of such a commission be trained and educated before they begin their deliberations rather than trying to get them up to speed during the proceedings? John Roach heads up the commission, and I know he's a frequent contributor to the site, so I'm hoping he'll come on here and clarify a few of these points for us.

Another question for John: Beck writes that Councilmen Sam Barone and Bob Bialkowski have asked the commission to "consider how much responsibility council has over department heads ... and giving council the power versus city manager." Have those issues come up yet? What does the commission think?

While we're at it: What about going back to a strong mayoral form of city government?

County Manager Jay Gsell told the Daily News that "it will be an "extremely difficult" task to keep the tax rate at or below" its current level. That's a fine assertion, but it makes for a whole lot of confusion sandwiched by statements to the contrary. Gsell also says: "I wouldn't bring anything to" the legislators that would exceed the current tax rate. For their part, the legislators say that they hope to "decrease taxes."

So which is it?

Reporter Paul Mrozek writes in the article summary line: "Gsell's goal: Cut the tax rate." That's a fine goal, but if Gsell himself doesn't believe it's possible, what's the point of calling it a goal?

A meeting of the town of Batavia Planning Board scheduled for tonight has been cancelled. The board had only one item on its agenda—the "draft generic environmental impact statement" for the agri-business park—and it was not ready. It should be ready for review for the next meeting on October 21.

Another decision was postponed, this time in Albion. There, the Town Board put off voting on its local wind law Monday in order to make the revisions—"very minor word changes"—recommended by the Orleans County Planning Board. The proposed law will limit "wind energy conversion systems" to not exceed 120 feet. They will take up the vote at the next session on October 20.

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

Most viewed posts for September:

• Responding To Mike Wrona, by Robert Harding
• Your thoughts on the Republican veep..., by Philip Anselmo
• See you at the Pole, by Nancy Baxter
• Letter to the editor flat out wrong about Senator Obama, by Philip Anselmo
• Chris Lee appears to be dodging debates and questions, by Howard Owens
• The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, by Tom G.
• Alice Kryzan's position on financial crisis and bail outs, by Howard Owens
• Palin stumbles in first televised interview. Just the jitters? Or more?, by Philip Anselmo
• Muckdogs sweep Jamestown to win NY-P crown, by Howard Owens
• Driving in Batavia, by Melissa George

Stephanie R. Cotton, 33, of 335 Bank St., C1, Batavia, was charged with a felony count of first-degree perjury Monday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Cotton is accused of making false statements while under oath during a county family court proceeding in April when she was facing a charge of fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Cotton was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $5,000.

More than 2,000 Genesee County residents have registered to vote since September 26, and nearly half (850) will be first-time voters, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Fischer spoke with the Democratic and Republican election commissioners for the county who attribute the surge in voter registration to the cult of personality: Barack Obama for the Dems and John Mc—oh, wait, no, not him—Sarah Palin for the GOP.

This Saturday will be the last chance to register for those have have not yet. Registration in Genesee County will be open from 1:00 to 9:00pm. Batavians can head down to the fire station on Evans Street or the Batavia Town Hall to register. Visit WBTA's Web site for a complete list of locations around the county.

Chris Lee, GOP nominee for the 26th Congressional District,  made a campaign appearance in Lockport and again knocked the bailout bill for being loaded with pork. He also said he'll push for the line-item veto if elected.

“The way things are now ... for the greater good we’re forced to accept the warts as well. A line-item veto is one of the first things I would fight for in Congress,” Lee said. “I hope most of these guys get voted out. If you saw me doing the same thing two years from now, I hope you’d vote me out, too.”

The problem with the line-item veto is it invests too much power in the executive branch, and in an age of imperial presidencies, that's going in the wrong direction. Congress needs to wrest some power back from the executive, not add to it. If Lee wants to portray himself as a conservative, he should give this position a little more consideration.

I wonder if Lee has a position on signing statements?

The Democrats paid for this attack ad on behalf of Alice Kryzan:

The Chris Lee campaign has this ad out now:

Shame on both camps.

This may be an indication how serious the Democrats are about winning the 61st Senate District: Candidate Joe Mesi has raised nearly $140,000 from outside-district sources, while getting only not even a fraction of that from within the district ($350).

This, according to the Buffalo News.

Mesi's campaign says the next finance filing, which will cover donations received after Sept. 29, will show a lot more in-district fund raising.

Mesi himself, incredibly and suspiciously, was not available for an interview, according to reporter Tom Precious

Meanwhile, they hit Ranzenhofer with this:

“We’re dismayed Mike Ranzenhofer continues to rely on cash from government contractors seeking subsidies and sweetheart deals,” said Emma Wolfe, a Mesi spokeswoman.

Is this where this once admirably issue-based campaign turns nasty?

When we've written about Mesi, our Democratic readers haven't shown much interest in him. When I talk with people around the district, they also note that Mesi isn't generating much interest in the area.  I wonder why that is? He's a credible candidate, whom state Democrats obviously want to win, with the kind of off-beat bio that can resonate with voters.  Why the big yawn so far?

Has Mesi made any public appearances in Genesee County yet.  My perception, though potentially unfair, is he's been pretty much a no-show around these parts so far.

If you've met Mesi, tell us what you think of him?

Meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting that Gov. David Paterson is on a mission to help Democrats win control of the Senate.

Mr. Mesi’s race in particular is considered a must-win for Democrats in their quest for a Senate majority.

“I think four or five months ago, David was not where he is today,” said Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Manhattan Democrat. “I think he’s concluded we’re going to win and that he has a better shot at mobilizing the state against the challenges we’re facing with a Democratic Senate.”

Do you think it's good for one party to control all levers of power in Albany? To me, as much as I distrust the two-party system, I'm even more leery of a one-party system.

Here's a new TV commercial from Ranzenhofer (nothing new from Mesi on YouTube):

Today, on my drive around Genesee County, I came across a few signs and flier for various church dinners or other community meals coming up this month.

It reminded me of a dinner at attended at Emmanuel Baptist Church on Oak Street a few weeks ago.  A woman at the event said, "Emmanuel has always put on the best dinners of any church in Genesee County."

Is that true?

If you could go to only one community dinner in October, which one would it be?  And if not in October, what church or civic group serves the best dinners?