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A snowmobiler in the area of Colby Road and Route 20 in Darien has reported finding a tractor on fire in a manure pile.

Darien Fire is being dispatched.

UPDATE: Darien chief reports a loader fully involved.  The fire is behind a barn where Darien had a hay bale fire a few years ago.

UPDATE 11:00 a.m.: Darien command reports the fire is knocked down. They're waiting on another tractor to pull the loader from the pile.

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Sunday should bring some sun, with highs hitting 31. Enjoy it while you can. There's an 80-percent chance of snow on Monday afternoon. While Monday's temperature could hit 35, winds might top out at 35 mph.

We can look forward to highs in the mid 30s on Tuesday and Wednesday with some chance of rain or snow showers, and maybe some patches of snow.

Photo: The silo above is located on Asbury Road in Le Roy. The photo was shot late Saturday afternoon.

An Oakfield woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries Friday morning when her car slid off Lewiston Road in Alabama, striking a guardrail and utility pole.

The accident report filed by Deputy Loni Nati states that Rebecca L. McDonnell was traveling "at an unsafe speed in slush," but the report does not mention any traffic citations.

The 47-year-old McDonnell, of 4-6 Stevens St., Oakfield, was hurt when her car turned onto its side.

The accident occurred at 7:08 a.m.

Margarita's Mexican Restaurant, 15 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: When you're looking for an authentic Mexican meal, Margarita's is the place to go. The food and atmosphere are perfect and the service is always outstanding. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: T.F. Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. "If it happens in sports, it happens at Brown's." We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

O'Lacy's Irish Pub, 5 School St. Batavia, NY: In Irish pubs, it doesn't get more authentic than O'Lacy's. Be sure to try the homemade chips. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Sallome's Italian Deli, 40 Oak St., Batavia, NY: Wraps, subs, paninis and pasta as well as pizzas -- Sallome's offers a tasty variety of Italian deli items for eat-in or take-out.  We have $10 gift certificates for $5 eac

Great Kutz, in the Valu Plaza, 4152 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: The Batavian is able to offer a limited number of reduced price hair cuts for children under 12. Click Here for details of the offer and to purchase vouchers.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here

SOLD OUT

Lori A. Brickwood-Coles, 31, of 219 Liberty St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt 2nd. Brickwood-Coles is accused of violating an order of protection. She was ordered to stay away from the work place of an acquaintance and allegedly did not.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

2:52 p.m., Feb. 17, Maple St., Alabama, one vehicle; Driver 1: David L. Tyler, 58, of Le Roy. No injuries.

4:17 p.m., Feb. 17, Gabby Road, Pembroke, two vehicles; Driver 1: Tiffany L. George, 23, of Basom; Driver 2: James L. Keyes, 48, of Buffalo. No injuries.

7:32 p.m., Feb. 17, Steven Hawley Drive and Bank St. Road, one vehicle; Driver 1: Kathy A. Saeli, 47, of N. Chili. No injuries.

8:38 p.m., Feb. 17, East Main St., Town of Batavia, one vehicle; Driver 1: Dimitrios G. Manou, 19, of Webster. No injuries.

8:28 p.m., Feb. 16, Route 63, Alabama, one vehicle; Driver 1: Jeffery A. Luxon, 25, of Middleport. No injuries.

A UPS driver making a left hand turn reportedly did not see an oncoming car causing an accident at 1020 Akron Road, Pembroke this morning.

The second driver, Kenneth Benware, II, 56, of 365 Wright Road, Akron, was injured and transported to an area hospital.

The driver of the first car was Adam M. Stone, 29, of 27 Spencer Court, Batavia. He was driving a truck owned by United Parcel Service.

Stone was given a ticket for allegedly failing to yield the right of way.

Billie will handle the bulk of the site update duties over the next two days.

I'll be in Washington, D.C.. I'll be participating in a meeting on the future of journalism, where I've been invited to discuss The Batavian. The group hosting the discussion is preparing a White Paper on the topic. The study group is made up of academics and government officials.

I'll be online as often as possible (multitasking as always, except when I'm on a plane or it's my turn to speak).

The Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center is on track to become one of the elite dispatch centers in the state, if not the country, with Director Steven C. Sharpe setting the bar high.

It's Sharpe's goal -- and has been since 2006 -- to have the dispatch center receive an Accredited Center of Excellence rating from the the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch.

No New York county has received an ACE rating since Monroe did it 18 years ago.

"It’s aggressive, but if you want to be the best and you want to say you’re the best, then you prove it by doing it," Sharpe said.

Sharpe, along with dispatchers John Spencer and Beth Hynes-Fisher will attend a training program in Orlando, Fla., in April that will provide the trio with more information on what it takes to win the accreditation as well as training in leadership, educating others and quality assurance. There will also be a series of classes on specific dispatch situations they can take.

The accreditation focuses on emergency medical dispatch, but Sharpe said the benefits go beyond sending ambulances out.

"The thing is, it doesn’t just effect our emergency medical dispatching," Sharpe said. "It makes us better dispatchers for police and fire as well.”

While achieving the accreditation is something Sharpe set his eye on as far back as 2006, he couldn't have dispatchers focus on the training during the years of moving into a new facility and consolidating with Batavia and Le Roy. Sharpe said his team started concentrating heavily on the accreditation in June and has already achieved a better than 90-percent compliance with protocols and calls. Accreditation requires at least 90-percent compliance on most calls and more than 95 percent on certain types of calls.

Part of the procedure required is that dispatchers go through a series of questions with callers in emergency medical situations. It's important for dispatchers to correctly assess the situation so they send the right personnel and ensure the emergency responders are properly prepared for what they might find.

"People often ask, 'why am I being asked all these questions?'" Sharpe said. "What we’re trying to do is find out what all the signs and symptoms are, and more importantly, give you instructions so you can help the person who is in need of assistance."

He said callers don't often understand that while one dispatcher is conducting the interview, another dispatcher is already starting an ambulance to the scene. Callers sometimes express concern that an ambulance isn't being sent right away, and that usually is not the case.

Sharpe joined the Sheriff's Office in December 2005 after eight years in the Air Force working in intelligence. He said his USAF background plays a critical role in how he approaches his job now.

"One of the core values of the Air Force is excellence in all we do and this is one of the things I carry over into here," Sharpe said "It’s what we expect of our dispatchers. It’s a very challenging job. It’s a very difficult job. It’s very stressful. But they hold themselves to such a high standard."

Dispatch Center photo is a file photo.

Danger: Slippery, icy roads.

That's the warning tonight from the National Weather Service, which has issued a winter weather advisory effective through 11 a.m.

The wet snow of this afternoon is giving way to a freezing drizzle overnight.

The icing will be minimal, notes the Weather Service, but it doesn't take much to put a thin glaze on roadways.

Untreated roads will be quite slick.

An 80-year-old woman from Akron died this evening after a car she was riding in slid on ice-covered roads into oncoming traffic.

Audrey E. Micciche was transported to UMMC and pronounced dead shortly after her arrival.

The driver, Mario J. Micciche, 80, also of Akron, was transported to UMMC with serious injuries.

The accident occurred at 4:52 p.m. on Route 5 about a tenth of a mile west of Indian Falls Road in Pembroke.

Mario Micciche was driving a 2001 Saturn Suburban west bound when he apparently lost control of the vehicle. The car slid into the eastbound lane where it was struck by a 2003 Ford Taurus.

The Taurus was driven by Deborah B. Osborne, 55, of 8896 Fargo Road, Stafford.

Osborne was transported to UMMC where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

There were no other passengers in either vehicle.

The crash is being investigated by Deputy Kevin McCarthy, Deputy Tim Wescott, Investigator W.T. Ferrando.

No charges have been filed.

Responding to the scene were East Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department, Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department, the Pembroke Highway Department and Mercy EMS.

It's snowing lightly right now, and the light snow is expected to continue into tonight and tomorrow morning.

It should taper off to flurries by Friday, but there's some bit of snow in the forecast through Monday.

And some wind, up to 20 mph at times.

And cold -- below 30 degrees until Saturday, when the temperature might reach a blistering 31 degrees.

Photo: Another barn shot. This one on Route 63 heading out toward Oakfield, but still in the Town of Batavia, I beleive.

A 125-year-old newspaper industry trade group announced today a third-place award for The Batavian in the General Excellence category for news Web sites in small circulation markets.

This marks the first time the Inland Press Association -- which counts among its members more than 1,100 newspapers in North America -- has given an award to an online-only news site.

Entrants in the contest were judged by a group of seven academics and industry experts. The judges said of The Batavian:

With many interactive storytelling features including polls and feedback on each story, The Batavian serves its audience with a well-edited community-focused site.

The top winners in the category were the Statesboro Herald, out of Statesboro, Ga., for its Web site, StatesboroHerald.com, and taking second was NVDaily.com, the Web site of the North Virginia Daily, out of Strasburg, Va.

The Batavian entered the contest in the 20,000 or less circulation category after being informed by officials at IPA that its entry would be welcome. Even though The Batavian has no print circulation, the category seemed appropriate given the newspaper in the local market, the Batavia Daily News, has a circulation somewhere in the 10,000 to 11,000 range.

Taking top honors in the over 20,000 category was The News-Gazette, Champaign, Ill. for its Web site, IlliniHQ.com.

The Inland Press Association first gave a General Excellance award for Web site publishing in 2006. Winning that inaugural award was Bakersfield.com, the Web site of the Bakersfield Californian. Howard Owens, publisher of The Batavian, was VP of Interactive for the Californian just prior to IPA honoring the Web site.

There is at least some interest among Batavia City Council members in setting up a committee structure similar to what the County Legislature uses.

When voters approved a revised City Charter in November, they granted the council the ability to reorganize the way it does business by going to a committee system.

City Council President Marianne Clattenburg said that the first priority for the new year was getting a budget passed, and with that vote scheduled for Monday, the council can turn its attention to strategic planning, which includes reviewing committee structure and options and deciding what would be best for the city.

"This is something for council to decide -- whether we want to have standing committees or set up temporary ad hoc committees -- as part of our strategic planning process," Clattenburg said. "I haven't really looked at it that closely yet. I’m going to let the council debate that as a group and go with the majority opinion."

At the County Legislature, the legislature has divided itself into three standing committees -- Public Safety, Human Services and Ways and Means. Resolutions are drafted by staff, brought to the committee and reviewed by the elected officials on the committee. Resolutions that involve an expenditure often go through two committees, with one of them being Ways and Means. By the time a resolution reaches the entire legislature, all members have reviewed it in one or more committees. When the legislature meets as a body, the resolutions are usually passed with very little discussion.

That is not a process that received universal support from council members.

Fifth Ward Councilwoman Kathy Briggs said she supports the idea of standing committees, but doesn't believe that issues shouldn't also be discussed when the full council meets.

"I would like to have a committee do research, come up with recommendations and go from there and we have a healthy discussion (at council level)," Briggs said. "I would never want to have a situation where it’s 'here’s the recommendation and here you go.' I don’t think that would go over well."

But operating more like the County Legislature is exactly what the council should do, according to Fourth Ward Councilman Bob Bialkowski.

"I honestly feel we can streamline the way we’re doing our business," Bialkowski said.

At-Large Councilman Frank Ferrando said he's interested in the committee system and believes a majority of his colleagues are intrigued by the idea, but he wants to know more about how Batavia might move forward with a reorganization.

"I think committees, in my personal opinion, are committees working on specific assignments, whether ad hoc or permanently, and they can work more efficiently and effectively to help the council in a way that will make the council better and better able to react to situations," Ferrando said.

In the Third Ward, Councilman Sam Barone isn't sure about committees. He said he hasn't decided one way or the other whether he will support a committee system.

Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian, representing the Sixth Ward, said she needs to know more about how a committee system would work before deciding whether to support it.

Council members Bill Cox, Tim Buckley and Patti Pacino could not be reached for comment.

Batavia Downs is not closing.

That's the message this morning from Western OTB Board Member Dick Siebert, who was part of a committee that met with State Lottery officials in Schenectady yesterday.

"We want our friends in the community and our employees to know that they're not going to be out of jobs," Seibert said. "Batavia Downs is not closing and that never really was the plan according to them (Lottery officials)."

The OTB told Lottery officials that they will begin immediately the process of hiring a consultant to help Batavia Downs come into compliance with Lottery regulations. The consultant will be hired in cooperation with the Lottery.

There have been no allegations of any misuse of funds, missing funds or serious wrongdoing. The Lottery issued a letter Feb. 3 raising concerns about procedural and administrative practices at the Downs and threatened to pull its video lottery terminals by March 1 if the Downs did not take steps to correct the reported deficiencies.

Siebert said he believes Lottery officials are now satisfied that the OTB board has a plan and is on the right track to address the state's concerns. The March 1 deadline has been lifted, he said.

"I'm sure as long as we show we're working diligently to do what the Lottery wants us to do, I'm sure the Lottery will be flexible (on the deadline)," Siebert said.

The consultant -- which must be approved by the Lottery -- will help the Downs comply with Lottery requirements and ensure it remains open.

The Enchanted Florist, 202 E. Main St., Batavia, NY:  Spring is almost here, but you an make your home or office feel like spring now with flowers! We have a $20 gift certificate for $9.50.

Present Tense Books and Gifts, 101 Washington Ave., Batavia, NY: Whether your taste runs to local authors, the finest in fiction or nonfiction or you're looking for a unique and special gift, this charming store in a cozy Victorian house on the edge of downtown is a great place to stop and shop. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Margarita's Mexican Restaurant, 15 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: When you're looking for an authentic Mexican meal, Margarita's is the place to go. The food and atmosphere are perfect and the service is always outstanding. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

The Color Salon, 35 Center St., Batavia, NY: Susan Francis, the owner and stylist at The Color Salon reminds women, "your hair is your greatest accessory." Francis has more than 20 years of experience helping women get the best hair color. We have a $50 gift certificate for $25.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Sallome's Italian Deli, 40 Oak St., Batavia, NY: Wraps, subs, paninis and pasta as well as pizzas -- Sallome's offers a tasty variety of Italian deli items for eat-in or take-out.  We have $10 gift certificates for $5 eac

Great Kutz, in the Valu Plaza, 4152 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: The Batavian is able to offer a limited number of reduced price hair cuts for children under 12. Click Here for details of the offer and to purchase vouchers.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here

A person reportedly has a minor hand injury, but is trapped inside a vehicle following an accident in Corfu.

East Pembroke Fire and Mercy EMS have been dispatched to the intersection of Route 5 and Hartshorn Road.

It's time for Genesee County to update its emergency preparedness plans, and today the Public Safety Committee approved spending $89,355 of Homeland Security grants on a consultant to help get the job done.

Emergency Response and Global Security Solutions, out of Cadillac, Mich., has been selected to help Genesee County's emergency management team get local preparedness plans in order.

Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger said bringing in a consultant is necessary because of the time involved in preparing the plans, and to ensure that the written documents meet state and federal specifications.

"Completing a thorough plan that complies with state and federal regulations is very time consuming," Yaeger said.

The series of plans will cover responses from emergency personnel ranging from pandemic disease outbreaks to airplane crashes to extreme weather events.

The plans include ones on dealing with mass fatalities, special needs sheltering (for people, for example, with disabilities), animal rescue (dealing with pets when whole areas need to be evacuated and people don't want to leave their pets behind) and a comprehensive county plan.

"Once the plan is developed, that plan identifies needs, gaps to be filled and we start addressing them through training and exercises," Yaeger said.

Among the most likely scenarios emergency personnel need to be ready to deal with are ice storms or blizzards, Yaeger said.

After natural disasters, emergency personnel need to be ready to handle hazardous material spills, either because such materials are stored in the county or often get transported through the county on trains or in trucks.

Genesee County isn't a likely to be a priority area for a terrorist attack, Yaeger noted, but deadly diseases can strike anywhere, and officials and volunteers need to be be ready to deal with any such outbreak.