Press release:

Attention parents, guardians, fourth-grade teachers and art instructors, the Landmark Society of Genesee County is calling for entries to the 23d Annual Architectural Drawing Contest for fourth-graders.

All Genesee County schools and homeschoolers are invited to participate. Please also note that the contest has expanded to include artistic photography and mixed media of historic sites and/or architectural details such as friezes, columns, etc.

Please be creative! Do not feel you have to copy from the "Architectural Heritage of Genesee County" book. Judges are especially looking for unique pieces -- photographs, images manipulated on the computer, etc.

Please send all entries by Thursday, May 2nd to the Richmond Memorial Library circulation desk or to Elba Central School.

The entries will be hung as soon as they are received on Thursday, May 2nd. This year's contest and awards ceremony will be held at the Richmond library beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 9th.

Reason Magazine: National poll results about distribution of wealth.

This horned grebe spent much of last weekend in our backyard after the Tonawanda spilled its banks. "Tamer" than other grebes, it allowed Claudia to take these photos without much alarm on its part. Still in its winter plumage in these pics, as it nears its breeding season the neck will turn rufous, the head and back will darken drastically and its russet "horns" will be more prominent.

Here its slightly tilting its head to accommodate a small fish down its gullet. Despite the murky floodwater, this grebe had no trouble finding prey beneath the surface. While its diet consists mostly of small fish, the horned grebe will also eat some crustaceans and aquatic insects. We watched as it would quickly dive and surface several seconds later, a process it would repeat several times throughout the day.

Excellent swimmers, young horned grebes can swim and dive immediately after hatching but most often they hitch a ride atop their parent's backs.

Horned grebes are rarely seen in flight, they migrate under cover of darkness and once on their wintering grounds they seldom leave the water. It spent all of last Saturday morning, afternoon and night in our flooded back yard. It was still there early last Sunday morning but with the floodwaters quickly receding, our visitor finally departed.

Batavia Players opened "On Broadway IV" tonight with a dinner theater production at Terry Hills.

The show offers selections from several Broadway musical hits, such as "The Heights," "Footloose," "Jersey Boys" and "Mamma Mia!"

The show continues this week at the 56 Theater, 56 Harvester Ave., Batavia, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday.

"On Broadway IV" is directed by Scott Laird and choreographed by Nikki Lanich.

The cast includes Brenda Andrews, Shellene Bailey, Alex Balbi, Aryn Bielski, Gabrielle Henry, Teressa Hirsch, Nash Johns, Kim Laird, Scott Laird, Nikki Lanich, Trevor Lee, Andrew Magin, Amy Martin, Paul Spiotta, Erin Stamp, Brianna Strassner, Anita Strollo, Serena Strollo-Dicenso, Amanda Melissa Taylor and Keara Zerillo.

As we announced previously, we have a special limited edition T-shirt coming out that was designed by Brian and Beth Kemp at T-Shirts Etc.

Existing members should have received an e-mail with a link where you can buy the shirt for $9 each. If you didn't get the e-mail, write to me at howard@thebatavian.com and I'll forward the link to you.

Readers who aren't members can purchase the T-shirt for $16 each. Use the PayPal buttons below or to order by check or credit card, download this form.

Join The Batavian Club before the end of the month and I'll send you the link to purchase shirts for just $9. The next three people to join will also receive a $20 gift card from Smokin' Eagle BBQ & Brew. Use the PayPal buttons below or click here to download the membership form.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60

Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Jennifer Spychalski, a freshman at Genesee Community College, is the winner of the college's "Fine Arts Student Show."

Her work, and that of other students enrolled in GCC's Fine Arts program, will be featured in an exhibit that will be open through Thursday.

According to a press release from Elisa Di Pietro, this exhibit "features two- and three-dimensional artwork" and "reflects the diverse coursework from drawing (to) painting, photography, 2D and 3D design and ceramics."

The exhibit is at GCC's Rosalie "Roz" Steiner Art Gallery at 1 College Road in Batavia.

For more information, contact Di Pietro at 356-2338.

Photo and information submitted by Elisa Di Pietro.

James Pontillo sent this picture of a sink hole that opened up at his property at 15 Oak St., Batavia. He said it opened at spot where he was standing and he fell in. The hole is now five-feet deep.

It may be an old city sewer line.

City DPW put up barricades for the night.

Jeff and Dave Pero see a business opportunity in Batavia -- picking up garbage.

The brothers took over management of rental properties owned by their grandfather after he died last year and when they started getting pricing for garbage collection under the new open-market system in Batavia, they thought it would expensive to hire a company to pick up trash at all of those properties.

They decided they would just take care of garbage collection at their own properties themselves, but that thought was quickly followed by another, "why don't we just do it for the whole city?"

Jeff and Dave won't be the first Peros to offer garbage collection in Batavia. Their great-grandfather had a trash company at one time.

They're buying a dump truck and will operate as Trash Away, picking up residential garbage. Customers who put out fewer than six 30-gallon bags per week or three standard trash cans per week will pay $18 bucks a month.

People who live alone and generate no more than one bag of trash per week will get a special price of $10 a month.

Trash Away will also pick up an unlimited amount of recycling.

When customers need bulk item pick-up or yard waste pick-up, Trash Away will offer the service by appointment and the price will be negotiated based on the size of the job.

The company will also offer attic, garage and basement clean-up for a fee.

For information call (585) 250-4065 or e-mail them at bataviatrashaway@gmail.com

Batavia High School lost to Frewsburg, out of Chautauqua County, 51-50, this afternoon in the final of Regional Mock Trials Tournament.

Both teams were 1-1 in the finals, presided over by Eugene F. Pigott Jr., associate judge of the New York State Court of Appeals.

Frewsburg will compete in the state championship rounds in Albany.

It's the first time in the 31-year history of the tournament that a team from neither Monroe County nor Erie County will represent WNY and the Southern Tier region, according to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman.

The morning's semifinal rounds were close, with all four teams going 1-1. Batavia and Frewsburg advanced with 117 points each. Pittsford Mendon and Clarence had 116 points each.

Judge Robert C. Noonan and Judge Eric R. Adams presided over the morning rounds.

The Batavia team for 2013: Katie Porter, Elena Chmielowiec, Trey Abdella
McKenzie Stevens, Becca Canale, Eric DiLaura, Cara Ranalli, Katie Kesler, Kaitlin Logsdon, Matt Gabriel, Bryce Rogers, Danielle Quinn, Beth Bennion, Brandon Smart, Samir Jane, Dylan Beckman, Chelsea Jensen, Adam Weaver and Alex Mott.

The Frewsburg team: Sarah Moller, Samantha Mann, Tera Anderson, Alanna Blanchard, Jesse Ernewein, Anthony Mole and Morgan Knight.

Author and journalist Tom Rivers was at Present Tense books and gifts on Washington Avenue, Batavia, today to sign copies of his newest book, "All Ears."

The book is a collection of some of Rivers' best pieces about community life during his 15 years at the Batavia Daily News.

Rivers is now editor of OrleansHub, an online news source serving Orleans County.

"All Ears" is available at Present Tense.

Pictured with Rivers, his 7-year-old daughter, Lucy.

Photo: Looking from Albion Road toward Bliss Road, Oakfield.

Today, parts of the county had a mixture of snow and hail, a bit of wind and cold -- under 40 degrees.

Tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 48.

Samantha Pangrazio pulls a bag of garbage from under a tree off Albion Road, in Oakfield.

Pangrazio, along with Jacqualine Chamberlain (pictured) and Debbie Martin, were on Albion Road this morning picking up trash and litter as part of a community Earth Day clean up. More than a dozen other volunteers participated.

This is the fourth year for the event, which Pangrazio started her sophomore year in high school.

"As a kid I grew up out in the middle of nowhere and I saw how people always threw garbage around and it really bothered me," Pangrazio said. "My mom would take us out and we would clean up the garbage. I thought it was something other people don't really think about, so I wanted to raise awareness about how gross some people can be."

This year's sponsors were: Genesee County Roofing, Lamb Farms, Loraine's Day Care, Caryville Inn, Alli's Cones & Dogs, Santino's Pizza and Becky's Treasures and Crafts.

A car has gone off the roadway on I-490 near mile marker 4.5 in the eastbound lane.

One caller reports no injuries and another caller told a dispatcher "there must be injuries."

Bergen fire and Bergen's ambulance responding.

UPDATE 6:04 p.m.: Bergen transporting a patient to Strong.

A fully involved truck fire next to a building is reported at 2369 Killian Road. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding. The location is on the corner of Killian and Pratt roads. The engine compartment is engulfed in flames, according to a person on scene.

Spring is here at last! When you step back and ponder your summer projects, look at your roof.

Press release:

The City of Batavia is proud to announce the promotion of Officer Jason Davis to the rank of Sergeant in the City’s Police Department effective April 21. Officer Davis will fill the Sergeant’s position created on April 1, 2013 by City Council resolution.

Officer Davis joined the Batavia Department in 1999 after having served as a Police Officer in the Town of Ellicottville and Deputy Sheriff for the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department. During his career with BPD Officer Davis has served as a Field Training Officer, has been a member of the Department’s Emergency Response Team, served as the Department’s Drug Recognition Expert and recently became a NYS Certified Instructor.

Officer Davis will provide veteran leadership and skill to the Department. Officer Davis lives in the Town of Batavia, is married with four children. When not on the job Officer Davis enjoys being a Cub Master for Cub Scout Pack 650.

The Emergency Response Team was deployed in Bethany yesterday to help authorities arrest a parolee who was considered armed and dangerous.

Christopher Allen Harzynski, 30, a parolee from Buffalo who was residing on West Bethany Road, was wanted for an alleged parole violation.

Harzynski was taken into custody without incident.

He has allegedly been on the run since Sept 27.

Deputy John Baiocco investigated his possible whereabouts for two weeks before locating him.

Besides the ERT squad, the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force and Deputy Lonnie Nati assisted Baiocco in the arrest.

Harzynski is being held at the Genesee County Jail pending pick up by his parole officer.

Pre-Summer Beach Party starts at 9:30 with a live d.j. playing dance, country, and all your favorites! 

• Free cover! 
• 2-4-1 drafts from 10pm-11pm!
• Shot girls!
• Tropical drink specials! 
• Dress for summer! 

The wall of a commericial building on Federal Drive in Batavia has collapsed. Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 1:31 p.m.: The chief on scene says the eastside exterior wall collapsed outward, but the building itself is still standing. A code enforcement officer is called and National Grid is on location. "All units can back it down. There's no emergency at this time."

UPDATE 2 p.m.: The actual location is 4330 Commerce Drive. The building is an automotive parts facility. Code enforcement is on scene. Town of Batavia's engine that was on scene left  responded to an automatic alarm of fire at the Quaker Muller factory, which turned out to be nothing.

Demolition should be largely wrapped up today.