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There were 44 write-in votes cast in the May 24 special election for the NY-26 congressional seat and Jeff Allen, who mounted a local write-in campaign through The Batavian, social media and a limited marketing budget, got 15 votes.

That made him the top vote-getter among all write-in "candidates."

David Bellavia, who specifically dropped out of the race and endorsed Jack Davis on the Tea Party line, received nine votes.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley received four votes as did former rep, Shirtless Chris Lee, who resigned after it was revealed he was apparently trolling Craigslist for dates.

Notable single vote "candidates:" Reader JoAnne Rock, reader Peter O'Brien, local businessman and Oakfield School District Board Member Marc Johnson and Elba resident and nationally known author Bill Kauffman.

Semi-professional football has arrived in Genesee County.

The Lyndonville Tigers are now playing their home games in Pembroke.

The team is comprised of players from throughout Genesee and Orleans counties and plays in an eight-team league that stretches from Jamestown to Troy.

Team President Taylor McCabe said over the past seven seasons, the Northeast Football Alliance league has consistently produced "action packed and extremely competitive football."

The Tigers, who finished last season in third place at 8-4, opened the season Saturday, taking a 20-13 loss against Finger Lakes.

Here's the schedule for the remainder of the season:

GAME Date Time Away Team @ Home Team
1- Sat 6/4/2011 5:30 PM Finger Lakes @ Lyndonville
2- Sat 6/11/2011 5:30 PM Lyndonville @ Buffalo
3- Sat 6/18/2011 5:30 PM Jamestown @ Lyndonville
4- Sat 6/25/2011 5:30 PM Southern Tier (Warriors) @ Lyndonville
5- Sat 7/9/2011 5:30 PM Lyndonville @ Southern Tier (Diesel)
6- Sat 7/16/2011 7:00 PM Lyndonville @ Finger Lakes
7- Sat 7/23/2011 5:30 PM Buffalo @ Lyndonville
8- Sat 7/30/2011 5:30 PM Lyndonville @ Jamestown
9- Sat 8/6/2011 5:30 PM Lyndonville @ Southern Tier (Warriors)
10- Sat 8/13/2011 5:30 PM Southern Tier (Diesel) @ Lyndonville 

All home games are played in the Pembroke park just south of the high school.

Last week, we reported an update on the downtown gull situation.

BID Director Don Burkel asked that we share the following information with readers:

If you are having a problem with gulls landing / nesting on your building there are some possible solutions by the USDA Wildlife Services:

• String 100-pound test fishing line in a grid pattern
• Use a “BirdX” (sound system)
• Use inflatable “Scarymen” by Reed Joseph Co.

If you need some advise on your particular gull problem, Carl Cranker, biologist for the USDA Wildlife Services, would be willing to visit your property. There is no fee for consultation and accessing your situation. If you want the Wildlife Services to perform a service, i.e. remove nests or eggs, there would be a fee involved. You can contact him directly by calling (315) 532-4835 (cell) or email: carl.c.cranker@aphis.usda.gov .

Press release:

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C – Batavia) is urging legislative leaders to make controlling property taxes the number one priority of the remaining weeks of the 2011 Legislative Session. The Tax Foundation recently released a study that shows homeowners in Orleans, Niagara, Monroe and Genesee counties face a property tax burden ranked in the top 10 nationally, based on percentage of median home value. Orleans, Niagara and Monroe occupy the top three spots respectively, while Genesee comes in eighth.

“To see all four counties in the 139th Assembly District paying some of the highest property taxes in the nation should serve as a loud and clear reminder to legislative leaders that we have no greater priority during this year’s session than to provide property tax relief to Western New York families and businesses, coupled with mandate relief for local governments and school districts,” Hawley said.

“Furthermore, 22 out of the 25 highest-taxed counties are found in Upstate New York. State government has placed Upstate’s economy at a massive, competitive disadvantage by increasing costs on localities and has forced families out of the homes they spent their entire lives working to build.

"I have consistently supported implementing a property-tax cap that will re-open Upstate New York for business and embrace the homeowners that have built their lives here, and I urge my colleagues in state government to join me in putting all of their energy behind this measure.”

Hawley is a co-sponsor of multiple bills to cap property taxes under consideration in the Assembly. While skyrocketing property taxes must be addressed immediately, so must the contributing factors that have led to such crushing levies.

“The cost-drivers handed down from Albany to local governments are a ploy to support unsustainable levels of spending,” Hawley said. “The passage of a property tax cap is not only crucial for homeowners, but it is also a vital component of the fight to repeal unfunded mandates that force localities to raise taxes year after year.

"The property tax crisis is truly symptomatic of New York’s most crippling problem – an unending appetite for spending. Passing a property tax cap is not the end of a long struggle, but rather the first domino to fall that will bring down unfunded mandates and reign in state spending.”

Batavia Police are looking for a subject last seen heading east on Highland Park following an unknown incident *on Jackson Street.

The subject is described as wearing a white tank top T-shirt, white flat-brimmed hat with a scruffy beard, riding a mountain bike and "still carrying the baseball bat."

*We didn't catch the original dispatch.

UPDATE 9:32 p.m.: Two acquaintances apparently had an ongoing dispute and one person allegedly hit the other with a baseball bat. The victim was transported by ground ambulance to the Genesee County Airport and taken by Mercy Flight to Strong. Lt. James Henning said there is a "person of interest" police would like to locate. Officers are also interested in talking to any additional witnesses, who can call the tip line at 585-345-6370.

This is part of an old train line that went through Genesee County at one time. I found this old bridge support on Old Creek Road last year and then, over the winter, while playing around on Genesee County's GIS map, I found an old right-of-way in Le Roy that is still owned by Lehigh Valley Railroad (even though Lehigh went bankrupt in the 1950s).

I traced the one parcel I found owned by Lehigh. At one time, it went through most of the county (The right-of-ways are still all separate parcels for the most part, owned by many different people.) The railroad left a permanent scar visible from the satellite images, so it's easy to trace. The line I found passed through this section of Old Creek Road in Alexander.

UPDATE: A caller says that this railroad location was part of the Delaware-Lackawana line, which merged with the Erie Line in 1961. The merger meant this railroad line was taken out of commission. The Lehigh line, he said, is further to the north.

One of the old, giant trees in the Batavia Cemetery fell down yesterday. The massive tree, which broke about 8 feet up its trunk, was located near the front of the cemetery, just south of the Richmond Mausoleum. It doesn't appear that any headstones were damaged.

Volunteers were in front of the Holland Land Office Museum parking lot today hawking hot dogs to raise funds for the International Peace Garden.

The peace garden supporters will be back at HLOM weekend after next.

At least, I think this is a yellow flag iris -- that's the best identification I can do through Google. There's thousands of them off Old Creek Road, as well as other parts of the county. It's a non-native species and considered an invasive weed (it's certainly invaded Old Creek and Hunn roads), from what I found online. I got a little obsessed with getting a picture of this one particular plant around noon today -- trying different lenses, exposures, shutter speeds. This was the best I could do. 

Linden resident Dick Harris bought is first Triumph motorcycle in 1955, and once he got that feeling of the open road and the wind in his hair, he hasn't spent a lot of time looking in the rear view mirror.

Harris, the son of a preacher, owns several versions of the legendary motorcycle now, including six that run and one he's restoring.  

In the room of his home where he stores the bikes, are pictures of Triumphs and places he's been, a shelf full of trophies he's won and a map of the United States. It traces the route to and from California he took during one of his three cross-country trips on a Triumph.

Just yesterday, the 78-year-old Harris went for a 150-mile ride.

"Every day that's nice, I try to get out," said the Linden native.

He left home at 17 and set out for Arizona, where he lived for a year. When he was 21 and discovered he liked riding motorcycles, he didn't exactly consult his preacher father.

"I didn't get on a bike until I was older, so my father didn't have much to say about it," Harris said.

He did get his dad to take a ride on a Triumph much later, when he was 80 years old.

While Harris didn't follow his father into the ministry, three of his four sons inherited his love for motor bikes. The picture below is of his son Dan's house, also in Linden.

Asked why he's enjoyed riding his bikes all these years, Harris kind of shrugged and said, "I don't know. Freedom, I guess. I like to get out on the road."

Rachel Ingutti, a member of the educational staff at the Seneca Zoo brought a collection of snakes, lizards, salamanders and a tortoise to the Interpretive Nature Center at the Genesee County Park in Bethany today.

The turtle below is a new addition to the Interpretive Nature Center, giving visitors a live animal to view (rather than just the interesting collection of stuffed species on display at the center).

Driving down Bethany Center Road, Bethany, this morning, I thought this clump of Queen Anne's Lace with the view behind it looked interesting.

As I was finishing with the pictures, a man in a pickup pulled up, giving me the impression he was the property owner, wanting to know what I was doing. I told him I thought these flowers might make for an interesting picture. He said, "You can call them flowers. To me, they're weeds." And drove off.

Right in the same area, I took the picture of the tree below.

Sam Ferris of Judge Road in South Alabama called me this morning and said there were a pair of large butterflies hanging out in his yard and he thought it might make an interesting picture.

A butterfly with a six-inch wing span? Sounds pretty interesting and I had a little time this morning, so I drove out there.

After getting a picture, I drove out to the Interpretive Center at Genesee County Park to cover an event there. When talking with volunteers there, I mentioned the large butterfly and pulled the picture up on my camera.

A volunteer said, "That's not a butterfly. That's a moth."

It turns out it's a Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora Cecropia). I learned that the moth has no digestive system. Tonight, it will probably fly off, find a mate and then die. Typically, once they molt, they live about three days.

A Batavia Nursing Home employee who earlier today was reportedly the subject of a police response to the facility is in jail tonight, accused of threatening to shoot a supervisor.

Parris L. Bryant, 50, of 218 State St., Batavia, was charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd, and jailed on $1,000 bail.

According to Sgt. John Peck, Bryant was the suspect in a case earlier today involving an employee who showed up at the facility drunk and angry over not getting paid, as scheduled.

Police officers who responded to that call convinced Bryant to leave and go home.

According to Peck, Bryant didn't bother any of his coworkers again until about 5:30 p.m., at which time he allegedly initiated a series of calls to a nursing supervisor threatening to shoot her over the non-pay issue.

When police responded to his house, Peck said, there were no guns visible and it's not clear that Bryant actually has access to a gun.

However, because Bryant is still an employee of the nursing home, has access to the building, and was allegedly in a violent frame of mind, police officers were concerned for the safety of the staff, Peck said.

"He must have been stewing about it all day," Peck said.

Peck said nursing home staff told officers that Bryant made five or six calls this evening.

Additional previous articles:

• Owner of Batavia Nursing Home facing federal charges; employees complain of payroll problems
• State dealing with 'issues' at Batavia Nursing Home, but won't release details
• Employees of Batavia Nursing Home tell TV news they can't cash payroll checks

Burglars went to some effort overnight to remove a safe from Neptune's Gardens, 33 Liberty St., Batavia, getting away with more than $2,000 cash.

According to owners Nick and Kathy LaFarnara, the safe was apparently too heavy for the thieves to carry, so they used her office chair to wheel it to a back window.

Nick said it probably took two people to get it out a window and drop it into a pickup truck.

It's the first time during their 25 years in business that it's been burglarized, Nick said.

He's eager to see the perpetrators caught and prosecuted, so LaFarnaras are offering a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the criminals.

Batavia Police Det. Pat Corona said tips can be phoned in confidentially to 345-6370.

Kathy LaFarnara said she was baffled to come into work this morning to find her chair missing from the office and a desk drawer opened with stamps on the floor.

"I'm thinking, 'that's just not right,'" Kathy said.

As she and Nick started to look around, they found a few other things out of place and then spotted her chair near a back window, which was open.

The first thing they checked for were missing pets, but all of the animals were accounted for.  

When Nick went back into is office and sat down, that's when he noticed the safe was missing.

Photo courtesy The Batavian's news partner, WBTA. WBTA also has a story available here.

Tyler Thomas Aldinger, 17, of Townline Road, Attica, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd (more than $250 in damages), petit larceny and trespass. Tyler is accused on trespassing on property on Attica Road in Alexander and cutting up farm property and taking it for scrap. The alleged incident was reported at 12:24 p.m., Thursday. Arrested with Tyler was Daniel Joseph Ognibene, 17, of Alexander Road, Alexander. Daniel was charged with petit larceny and trespass.

Marcos A. Torres, 28, of Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Torres was arrested following a traffic stop at 3 p.m. Tuesday on Route 98, Town of Batavia. Torres was jailed on $800 bail.

Press release:

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Kathy Hochul (D-NY26) announced that she will serve on the House Committee on Homeland Security in the 112th Congress.

“I look forward to working hard for the people of the 26th District as a Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security,” said Congresswoman Hochul. “As a Representative of a district right by the border, issues of homeland security greatly impact the people of my district and I will work tirelessly to ensure their safety.”

Congresswoman Hochul began her work immediately, meeting with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, where the two discussed national security issues facing our nation and discussed international trade and travel across the Peace Bridge in Buffalo.

Congresswoman Hochul has already voted on issues of vital importance to our homeland security. She voted against H.R. 2017, FY 2012 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, which makes more than a billion dollars in cuts to critical local and national security programs.

Instead of cutting funding to programs that protect Western New Yorkers, Congresswoman Hochul supported the Clarke-Higgins-Reichert-Tonko Amendment to reform the Urban Area Security Initiative so that Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse would continue to be eligible for funds that prevent, protect and safeguard these cities against terrorist attacks.  Prior to the passage of this amendment, the bill would have restricted funding to only 10 cities.

Congresswoman Hochul recognizes that we must be vigilant in our efforts to protect our communities and borders against terrorists.

Batavia Police released further information on the people arrested during the May 19 neighborhood enforcement sweep we reported on yesterday.

Jacqueline R. Garrett, 32, 9850 Old Creek Road., Alexander. Arrest on a charge of criminal sale of marijuana, 5th, after Local Drug Task Force members reportedly witnessed a transaction at 99 Jackson St.

Edgar Perez, 26, 110 Jackson St., Batavia. Arrested on a superior court arrest warrant out of Orleans County.

Joseph C. Wind, 41, 5469 Horseshoe Lake Road., Batavia. Arrested on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal use of drug paraphernalia, 2nd, and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. All as the result of a traffic stop for driving without headlights. A passenger in the car was a subject being supervised by, and of interest to, NYS Parole.

Thomas J. Mitchell, 21, 6 Oak St., Batavia. Arrested on charges of  criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, unlawful possession of marijuana and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Mitchell was reportedly picked up as the result of a traffic stop in connection with the car allegedly attempting to avoid police by entering BOCES property after leaving an address of interest to NYS Parole.

Three Batavia Nursing home employees have contacted The Batavian today to report that once again, they're not getting their paychecks as scheduled.

A fourth, unidentified employee, showed up at the facility around 12:30 p.m. and was allegedly drunk and disorderly. Batavia police were called, but did not make an arrest, telling the obviously drunk older gentleman to move along.

A police officer confirmed the man was upset about not getting paid today.  

Meanwhile, the home's owner, Marc Korn, was in a Buffalo Federal Court yesterday to answer to fraud charges, but his case was continued because he did not have an attorney. The judge gave him until June 14 to hire an attorney.

Korn, who owns two nursing homes and a house in East Amherst, according to WIVB, may not be able to afford an attorney and may require court-appointed counsel. 

Two weeks ago, employees received checks, according to sources, but were told not to cash them until the following Thursday. This past Friday, employees were not paid, according to sources, but received their checks on Wednesday.

State health officials have been unwilling to confirm with The Batavian that the nursing home may be taken over by the state, but WIVB reports that they've been told that is the case.

A spokesman for the health department said the state is dealing with several issues at the facility.

Inset photo, Mark Korn, courtesy WIVB.