Local baseball fans may get to see a familiar face at Dwyer Stadium on Aug. 2 and 3 when Williamsport visits the Muckdogs.

Former BHS standout Ryan Gugel, signed as a free agent by the Phillies a month ago out of Albany, has been moved from the team's affiliate in Lakewood to the Crosscutters.

He will be the Crosscutters' third catcher, so he may not get any playing time during his visit to his hometown. 

Those are Williamsport's final two games at Dwyer this season. The Muckdogs face the Crosscutters tomorrow and Thursday in Williamsport.

Gugel was hitless in four plate appearances for Lakewood, drawing one walk.

How come Batavia's gas prices are so much higher than Rochester's?????

It was a close game through nine innings, but the Muckdogs (15-16) couldn’t hold the Tigers (17-11) in the bottom of the 10th as Oneonta went on to win 3-2.

The game was scoreless until the 5th inning.  Niko Vasquez had a lead off double to get things going for Batavia.  Ivan Castro got on base right after on a fielding error by the Tiger’s shortstop.  Both advanced a base during the next at-bat when Beau Riportella grounded out.  Ryan Jackson then came up with a RBI base hit to score Vasquez and Castro came home later on a wild pitch.

Oneonta answered right back, scoring two of their own in the bottom of the inning.  The game remained tied until the Tigers were able to plate the winning run in the bottom of the tenth on base hits.

LaCurtis Mayes (0-2, 1.54) suffered the loss, pitching through the last two outs letting in the winning run on three hits with one strikeout.  Deryk Hooker was the starter.  He went five innings with two runs, four hits, one walk and six strikeouts.  Joe Kelly and Santo Maertz threw two innings each, both giving up one hit while striking out two.

D’Marcus Ingram continued to stay hot on the road in July.  He was the only Muckdog with a multi-hit night, going 2-for-4 with a walk. 

If you're fascinated by the Doty Mansion, here's a rare chance to see inside.  I just received this e-mail from Lisa Stoddard, who owns the grand old home with her husband, Tim.

We'll be having an open house this Thursday the 23rd  at 7:00 pm and another one Thurs, July 30th at 7:00 pm. This will  be for the lower apt. Any perspective tenants will have a chance to see the apt. and fill out an application at those times. Nosy neighbors are welcome!! and anyone else interested in the history and the architecture. People should park on Highland Ave and go up the back driveway to the first door by the mailboxes.

Previously: Batavia couple slowly, lovingly restoring one of city's grand old mansions

It was billed as the trial of the century in West Jackson Corners as Cornelius Possum was brought up on various charges, including sleeping in church.  Cornelius is a notorious ne’er –do– well and his disruptive antics are the stuff of legend in West Jackson Corners.

A record number of visitors poured into the tiny village to enjoy the day’s events, beginning the annual town meeting– where charges were brought against and Cornelius and his co-defendant, the “village bum” After famous trial lawyer “J. Boliver Shagnasty” arrived on the scene, a jury was selected and the stage was set. 

The “legal” proceedings were framed by a plethora of activities ranging from horse rides, guided tours, games, food and demonstrations of life from a bygone era. Here are a few photos of yesterday’s event.

Town and village residents in Le Roy are being asked to consider a new tax for 2010 to help support its local ambulance service, which has been running at a deficient in recent years.

The tax would help offset an anticipated $25,000 shortfall in 2010.

"In order for us to continue to operate in the community, we need tax support," said Bob Boyce, president of the Le Roy Ambulance Service board of directors. "We're only asking for a minimal amount, but if the town residents object and don't allow the tax, the alternative is for us to close the doors."

Boyce said the service is being squeezed by increasing costs and declining revenue from reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare.

While donations might help, Boyce said even in the best years, the 38-year-old ambulance service raised only $20,000 in contributions.

There will be a public hearing within weeks on the proposal.

Under current state law, it is up to the town to create a tax district and then the village board can enact a local law to extend its authority into the village.

If only the town enacts the new tax, it would mean an addition 12.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or about an average of $14.43 per property. If both the town and village adopt the tax, the rate would be 6.5 cents per thousand, or $7.50 annually on each tax bill.

As the new ground ambulance service being set up by Mercy Flight, Boyce expressed concern that with all the ambulances being based in Batavia, the service won't be able to match the under-five-minute response times of the current Le Roy service. He said it takes 10 to 20 minutes for an ambulance from Batavia to respond to a Le Roy call.

At one time, the Le Roy service was staffed entirely by volunteers, but over the years, the organization has relied more and more on paid professionals, either in terms of its own full-time staff (two people) or a rotation of professionals who live in the area, work on a per-diem basis while maintaining full-time jobs with commercial ambulance services.  There are still 4 or 5 volunteers with the service, Boyce said.

The service generates nearly $400,000 annually insurance billing to help support its operations.

The proposal was presented to the town board on June 25. (We'll get back to you on the date of the public hearing).

PDF: Map, Plan and Report for the Establishment of an Ambulance District

Audio: Portion of an interview with Bob Boyce

Former Attica standout Derek Wolfley received a Division I basketball scholarship to Iona College last season, and played in 25 games during his freshman season.

But now he's coming home.

The 6-foot-7 forward has decided to take his college basketball career to the University at Buffalo, where he expects to see more playing time next season.

Attica's all-time leading scorer with 1,474 points and 932 rebounds averaged 7.5 minutes per game for the Gaels, while scoring 1 point and 0.9 rebounds per contest.

He will be playing as a walk-on next year but will have an opportunity for a basketball scholarship because six seniors will graduate from next year's UB squad.

In discussing consolidation, much has been made of the negative property tax rate paid by Town of Batavia residents -- a nice benefit that may or may not survive the town's need for infrastructure improvements and the potential of a change to sales tax distribution in a few years -- but one hidden impact of the town's tax structure is the benefit derived by the multinational corporations that populate Veterans Memorial Drive.

These corporations -- already beneficiaries of billions and billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies across the USA -- also get a tax break being located in the town.

This is as an additional unfair competitive advantage the big box retailers have over City of Batavia businesses and another issue that will need to be addressed in consolidation.

Town Supervisor Greg Post mentioned to me last week that the town invested millions, in his words, in making it possible for the big box stores to locate in the town. I'm not sure how what he means by that statement, but any large scale investment by the town -- which he sees as a positive -- is a further reason to ensure these businesses are taxed fairly and competitively, on par with other businesses in the region.

Of course, a world of no taxes is ideal, but when you're talking about the vitality of a community, protecting your small businesses form the unfair advantages of multinational retailers should be a priority on the community agenda.

Should consolidation pass, when it comes time to write a new charter, this tax inequality issue must be addressed. And if consolidation doesn't pass, the town board owes it to the community fix this inequity.

The businesses on Veterans Memorial Drive require a good deal law enforcement (an expense shared by the entire county), fire and infrastructure support. The chains should be paying their fair share of taxes just for that reason.

Protecting and enhancing downtown, as well as the diversity of other small, locally owned businesses is essential to the vitality and health of Genesee County.  Allowing the big boxes to avoid an equal tax burden with other businesses threatens one of our greatest resources -- our independent businesses.

The Lancers took first place at the 2009 Gates Tournament July 18-19.

Game one saw the Lancers defeat Oakville (Canada) U19's by the score of 2-0. Emily Starowitz and Kaylie Ewers both scored, off assists by Kasey Welch. Game #2 was a 4-0 win over Niagara Pioneer. Ewers got the team going off an assist from Julia Medwid. Jessie Jaszko then took a Medwid assist and went in on a breakaway and scored. Welch would then score on a PK just minutes later. Julia Medwid finished her great game with a well deserved tally off a Lin Wellspeak assist.

Sunday brought a 1-0 win over Gates Metros-I. Kasey Welch scored on a free kick from 25 yards out in extra time to win the game.

The final saw the ladies defeat the Gates Metros-II by the score of 1-0 as Brooke Mallaber's first half goal, off a Jenna Ferrando assst, was all the ladies needed. Leslie George made 6 saves in the final to post her 4th shutout of the weekend. The Lancers defense of Jenna Ferrando, Audrey Rath, Jenn Lonnen, Jamie Braswell, Mallaber, and Alesha Amend was fantastic all weekend.

Congrats to the team for a great weekend! 

Members: Jessie Jaszko, Kaylie Ewers, Brooke Mallaber, Lin Wellspeak, Brittany Hein, Ali Malinowski, Emily Starowitz, Emilie Rath, Audrey Rath, Alesha Amend, jamie Braswell, Julia Medwid, Kasey Welch, Brittany Luckey,  Jenna Ferrando, Leslie George, and Jenn Lonnen.

The team is coached by Chris Chilano and sponsored by TF Brown's, SJ Starowitz, and Lewis & Lewis, P.C.

The Byron Heritage Festival is happening on Saturday, July 25th, with an incredible array of events for the public to enjoy from morning until midnight.  The Festival takes place in the park that is located behind the Byron Fire Hall on Rt. 262 near the center of town.  So please mark July 25th on your calendars, and come to Byron's Fireman's Park for a day full of fun, and dance the night away with live entertainment and beautiful fireworks. 

8:00 - 10:00 AM - Kiwanis Fishing Derby (sign-in begins at 7:30 AM)

9:00 AM - 5K Kid's Race and 10:00 AM 5K Adult Race (sponsored by Boy Scout Troop #13, registration begins at 8:30 AM)

9:00 AM -5:00 PM - Craft and Food Vendors

9:00AM - Garage Sales throughout the town

11:00 AM - 3:00 PM - Cruise In

12 Noon - Chicken BBQ (sponsored by the Byron Fire Dept, til sold out)

11:00 AM - Geoffrey Clough

12:00 PM - Renaissance Man

1:00 PM - Magician James Swatt

2:00 PM - Belly Dancers

2:00 PM - Horseshoe Tournament (sponsored by Sue Fuller)

2:30 PM - Sack Race/Balloon Toss/3 Legged Race

3:00 PM - Ghostriders

4:00 PM - Hot Dog Eating Contest

5:00 PM - Pig Roast (sponsored by the Byron Presbyterian Church, til sold out, tickets $8, take-outs only, served at the Town Park),

5:30 PM - Beautiful Gardens of Byron winners announced

6:00 PM - Savage Cabbage (sponsored by the Byron Hotel)

9:00 PM - Midnight -Bandera

9:30 PM Fireworks

Portions of the day are made possible with funds from the Decentralization program, a regrant program of the New York State Council of the Arts, administered by the Genesee-Orleans Arts Council through the Byron Bergen Public Library.  For more information about the Byron Heritage Festival, please call Debra at 548-7123x10, or look at the town web site:  http://www.byronny.com/. 

A 20-year-old motorcycle rider from Basom is in serious condition at Erie County Medical Center following an accident at the Flying J truck stop last night.

Elias P. Seward, who resides at 812 Gorton Road, Basom, was transported by Life Flight to ECMC, where he is now in ICU. Information on the exact nature of his injuries is not available.

The accident occurred last night about 7:30.

The driver of a truck, Joel S. Fitzgerald, 66, of 9330 Horseshoe Island Road, Clay, told investigator Deputy T.G. Westcott that he was heading south on Route 77 in the passing lane attempting to make a right hand turn into the Flying J. Westcott's report states, "Operator of vehicle #1 (Fitzgerald) stated he only saw a light as he turned and didn't see vehicle #2 (Seward) in the driving lane.

Fitzgerald was pulling a house trailer. The trailer struck Seward and dragged him approximately 40 feet, pinning him under the trailer at the entrance to Flying J.

A passenger riding in the back of a pickup truck suffered a minor head injury over the weekend after falling from the moving vehicle.

Charles E. Blair, 48, sustained cuts to his head when he lost his balance as the driver, Betty L. Stetzenmeyer, 58, of Canandaigua, pulled from the parking lot of a store at 409 Bloomingdale Road, near Martin Road, in Alabama.

There were six other passengers in the truck.  No other injuries were reported.

David Micahel VanDorn, 20, of 1441 Broadway Road, Darien Center, is charged with harassment. VanDorn was arrested following a domestic dispute. During the argument, VanDorn allegedly spit on a woman, grabbed her by the wrists while attempting to remove a ring and yelled profanities at her.

Marie Erin Schafer, 21, 1441 Broadway, Darien Center, is charged with harassment. Schafer allegedly threatened to punch another person while moving toward her and also threatened to run another person over with a car.

Dennis R. Snell, 46, of 6563 Allegheny Road, Basom, is charged with DWI and failure to submit to a pre-screen device. Deputy Patric Reeves was called to the scene of a dispute in Alabama, with a report of an intoxicated driver. Upon investigation, Reeves charged Snell.

Claire Christin Cade, 25, of 96 Franklin St., Apt. #2, Owego, is charged with petty larceny. Cade is accused of stealing $147.27 worth of merchandise from Darien Lake Theme Park.

Marie Jacqueline Bogart, 32, of 94 Spencer Ave., Owego, is charged with petty larceny. Bogart is accused of stealing $132.08 in merchandise from Darien Lake Theme Park.

UPDATE: Missed these two items earlier:

Catherine Megan Marchese, 22, of 6430 Alleghany Road, Basom, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.  Deputy Brian Thompson made the arrest while investing a litering complaint in Alabama when he stopped Marchese's car.  Marchese allegedly was throwing stuff from her car. During the investigation, Thompson reportedly found heroin in the car.

Elizabeth Marie Kennedy, 27, of 10 Maple Ave., Batavia, is charged with harassment and criminal mischief. The charges stem from alleged July 2 incident.  Kennedy is accused of attacking her boyfriend and destroying property.

Sue Cappiello, right, a Batavia native now living in California, won a new Schecter Tempest electric guitar when her winning ticket was drawn in a raffle at last weekend's Batavia Ramble. The raffle was held to raise funds for the Mental Health Association in Genesee County. Here, she poses with MHA staff member Charley DelPlato and her new guitar. (Picture and caption submitted by Sue Gagne)

Herbly Wonderful, 3701 Pearl St., Batavia, N.Y.: Plants, teas, herbs, mixes, a great place to shop to make your home more cozy, naturally. We have a $25 gift certificate for $10.50.

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 Main St. Road, Batavia, N.Y.: Always a great place for gifts, South Main just brought in a bunch of new merchandise from the region. We have a $20 gift certificate for $9.

Eclectic Creations, 625 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y. Do you like fashionable purses? Maybe a unique watch is more your style. Eclectric Creations a variety of items that you won't find in any other local store. This is a $20 gift certificate for $9.

The Enchanted Florist, 202 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: Brighten up your home or office with flowers!  We have a $20 gift certificate for $8.50.

Note: We're changing pick-up/mail policy. Please read.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies on items more than $10. The fee is 50 cents on items below $10.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value. People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before. Gift certificates cannot be combined with other offers without prior approval of the merchant. Gift certificates bought separately cannot be combined for a single purchase. By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. The winner has up to 48 hours to make arrangements to pick up the gift certificate at The Batavian office in Downtown Batavia, or, unless other arrangements are made, the gift certificate will be mailed to the address associated with the PayPal account.

The Enchanted Florist

sold

Herbly Wonderful

SOLD

Eclectic Creations

South Main Country Gifts

SOLD

Starter Eric Fornataro held opposing batters nearly hitless in seven innings of work today, setting the pace as the Muckdogs (15-15) completed the three-game sweep of Tri-City (9-18) with a 1-0 victory.

The lone run came in the bottom of the 8th.  Ryan Jackson started things off with a base hit and moved to second on a error and then to third on a sacrifice bunt by D’Marcus Ingram.  Jackson came in to score when Devin Goodwin hit a sacrifice fly to right field.

Fornataro finished with just one hit and one strikeout.  He had just 14 balls through seven innings and threw a first pitch strike to 15 of the 22 batters he faced.  Scott Schneider (1-0, .92) picked up the win throwing the last two innings with three hits and three strikeouts.

Jackson was the only Muckdog with a multi-hit night, going 2-for-3.

The Oatka Festival in Le Roy yesterday may have been the place for all the fun, but the former Creekside Inn -- soon to be the Creekside Tavern & Inn -- was where you heard all the buzz.

The site of many grand times, and no small bit of history, was jammed with people looking over what Bill Farmer and his son are doing to the rustic stone building set against the falls of Oatka Creek.

Farmer is a man passionate about restoration, having put a whole career into working on some of the landmark restoration projects in Rochester. The Creekside project was supposed to be a hobby project, but has become Farmer's full-time avocation. 

For those who think entrepreneurs won't invest in Genesee County, Farmer will have sunk more than $1 million into the project by the time the restaurant and tavern opens next spring.

I spent at least 30 minutes just chatting with Farmer.  He's passionate about the project and believes it will become a destination point, drawing diners and beer lovers from Buffalo and Rochester to a village that has seen better days.  Farmer believes, and I think he's right, the Creekside restoration could spark interest from other developers in the village, which he thinks is one of the great undiscovered villages in WNY. 

The Village of Le Roy is well located, with some great older buildings and plenty of local history to be a draw for shoppers and diners from all over the region.  It's great to see an entrepreneur like Farmer take such a huge step to help save one great building and hopefully spark a new economic era for Le Roy.

I stopped by the Oatka Festival in Le Roy briefly yesterday.  It was a great crowd and everybody seemed to be having a great time. The weather was prefect.

Whether your group is a Rotary or Lions club, a historical society, a volunteer fire department or just a group of people who like to get together once in a while and talk about interesting things, you might want to know that I have a presentation available that will ensure an informative and interesting afternoon or evening meeting.

My presentation is entitled "Reinventing Journalism." I've given the same talk at the national Society of Professional Journalists convention and the New England New Media Association convention as well as other national and regional groups. I've boiled down the key points so it would be appropriate to a local community group meeting (where the time limit is often 20 minutes, rather than the hour I usually take).

Some people might think The Batavian is nothing more than a wild thought -- let's publish a Web page and make it something like a blog. As if it were that simple.

Actually, a lot more thought and experience went into it than that -- a lot of study of media history and media theory, and "Reinventing Journalism" hits some of the key points. (If you're interested in my qualifications for giving such a talk, check my LinkedIn profile.)

So my talk covers some interesting journalism history and challenges, and concludes with theory on why The Batavian is the kind of news Web site it is.

I've found that anybody with any interest in media at all finds the topic a great discussion item.

The presentation includes multimedia -- I can bring audio speakers, but I don't own an LCD projector, so your group will need to provide the projector and a suitable location.

If you're interested in booking a "Reinventing Journalism" talk and a discussion about The Batavian, call me at 260-6970.

Batavia (14-15) kept things going in their second game of the night, beating Tri City (9-17) this time by a score of 7-2.

The Valley Cats looked to take the second game of the series by going up 2-0 by one run in both the 2nd and 3rd innings.  But, the Batavia offense turned it on beginning in the 4th.

Alan Ahmady got on base after being hit by a pitch and Xavier Scruggs followed him with a two-run blast to keep his momentum from game one. Ryde Rodriguez then doubled and came around to score on a base hit by Jairo Martinez.

They plated two more in the next inning to cushion their lead.  Ahmady began the rally again by getting on base after a base hit.  Scruggs then doubled and both came in to score on an error during Rodriguez’s at-bat.

Two more insurance runs came in the 6th starting with a single by Guillermo Toribio.  He moved to third on a single by Beau Riportella and was able to come home when Niko Vasquez hit into a double play. Rodriguez picked up another RBI later by hitting a single to plate Ahmady who walked earlier in the inning.

Michael Blazek (3-3, 3.46) settled in in the start to get himself the win.  He went five innings with eight hits, two runs (one earned), one walk and four strikeouts.  Santo Maertz followed him in relief and worked out of a bases-loaded jam, throwing one and two-thirds innings with no runs, no hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

Scruggs stayed sharp in the second game of the night, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, a homerun and two RBI.  Ahmady went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored and Rodriguez went 2-for-4 also with a double.