Stories from

Community Leader #1: "I'm eager to see the Daily News today to find out what they say about the youth football program."

Community Leader #2: "Why? I've already found out all I need to know on The Batavian."

I'm hiding the identities of the two people in the conversation because it was just casually mentioned to me, but it's been on my mind all afternoon.

That's exactly what we want people to get about The Batavian.  We're timely and complete and trustworthy.

Philip has done a great job of covering the controversy surrounding where youth football should be played, and we've gotten useful and informative comments from people on the posts to help supplement the coverage. 

We're not a big believer in people relying on just one source of information for news -- that's why we always encourage people to subscribe to the Daily News and listen to WBTA -- but we also want to be as complete as possible (which is why we also tell you about the Daily News and WBTA coverage).

The other aspect of the conversation is the value of word-of-mouth promotion.  That's something you can't buy, so it's great to hear about people spreading the word about the work we're doing.

We're very happy with the results of our advertising in the Genesee Valley PennySaver and on WBTA, and I just did a post about our community sponsorship efforts.  Without that advertising, it would be hard to get the word-of-mouth marketing going.

Still, if you think The Batavian is good for Batavia, good for Genesee County, please tell your friends, neighbors, co-workers.  There is strength in numbers, and the more people who visit the site the better for our business, but just as important, the better for the community conversation and the better for keeping all of us better informed.

Post our web site address in your school bulletin or group newsletter.  And let people know they can send us news, too, or post it themselves.

If you're new to The Batavian, follow this link for previous posts about who what we do and why.

Here's a gloomy story to start of your Saturday with: Don't expect property tax relief soon.

The impression left by the D&C story is that the state legislature is dissecting the issue into particle detail rather than just dealing with the basic issue: Property taxes are too high.

All sides have expressed a desire to do something about property taxes, but the way to get there, like the path to so many goals in Albany, is clouded.

A property tax cap, proposed by a state commission put together by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, has won the support of Gov. David Paterson. But state lawmakers, including those who represent Monroe County, are not convinced Paterson's proposal is the answer.

Back in the 1970s, when Californians got fed up with the state Legislature's wishy-washy, spineless approach to property tax relief, they passed Jarvis-Gann, better known as Proposition 13. 

While the transition to new ways of funding and operating schools and government hasn't always been easy for California, property taxes are a lot lower and everything still operates just fine.  Maybe there needs to be a voter revolt in New York, cause it's sure sounding like the Legislature wants to sit on its hands.

Here's Steve Hawley's reply:

"I'm not sure we should be focusing exclusively on the school tax," said Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, R-Batavia, who was a member of the Genesee Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) before he was elected to the Legislature.

Hawley suggested exploring different property tax rates based on income and family situation, not strictly home value, and noted that government spending is the root of the problem.

"A reasonable solution is to stop trying to be all things to all people," he said.

Certainly, reducing waste in government and the size of government is a good place to start, but the idea that the government would A) develop an even more complex tax scheme (different rates based on family size and income?); and, B) start meddling in the structure of New York families doesn't sound very Republican-like.

Maybe Hawley can contact us or leave a comment and try to explain better what he's talking about, because this sound bite sounds more scary than helpful.

In this video we found on YouTube, this Batavia toddler seems pretty happy with the ice cream at Blondie's.

The Holland Land Office Museum announced on its blog yesterday that on June 13, it will begin an "online exhibit" series of 25 things that made Genesee County famous.

For this online exhibit, a panel of 15 people spent six months sifting through 100s of things know world wide. It was the panel's job to come up with a list of 25 things that made Genesee County famous. Every week, until November 28, 2008 the Holland Land Office Museum will release another item.

Cool idea, and it's interesting that this physical museum has chosen the digital world to highlight such a potentially fascinating list of events, people and items.

Anybody want to guess what some of these 25 things might be?  Leave a comment.  (I'm guessing #1 is anti-masonry and the Morgan Affair. Joseph Mancuso and the business incubator have to be pretty high up there, too.)

Quote from Thom Beers about growing up in Batavia:

"Somebody taught me a long time ago, be true to who you are," Beers said by phone this week from Long Beach, Calif., where he and a crew filmed a bridge painter for NBC's "America's Toughest Jobs," another Beers production. "I grew up in a blue-collar world."

In his hometown of Batavia, N.Y., just east of Buffalo, his heroes were his uncles, Nick, a pizza maker, and Rocky, a mechanic, "salt-of-the-earth guys. Guys who told the truth, went to work every day and took care of their families. It's not that I saw an opening for a grand experiment. This is what I know."

UPDATE: Here's another story about Beers -- Life is never borig.

WBTA, 1490 AM, is gearing up for another of its periodic auctions.  Dan Fischer has loaded the station's web site page with several more items.

Items include:

• Four-pack for Martin's Fantasy Island
• One-price pass for the Attica Rodeo
• Gift certificates for Oliver's Candy
• Bus trip for two to Seneca Niagara Casino
• Birthday blow out at The Gravel Pit
• Gift certificates for O'Lacy's
• Gift certificates for Center Street Smokehouse

Rules here, segment schedule here.

When people look at individual posts, we're able to count how many times that happens. That doesn't tell us precisely how many people read that post, because most people probably read a post on the home page and never click-through to the post on its own page.

Individual story counts are probably driven by people leaving or reading comments, or getting the permalink (story URL) to send to a friend.

With that caveat, here's our Top 10 posts for May (the first month of existence for The Batavian).

1. Batavians choose not to live like they do in big cities, by Charlie Mallow
2. Let's keep our culture: A chat with Marianne Clattenburg, by Philip Anselmo
3. News roundup: "Secret" meetings at City Hall?, by Philip Anselmo
4. Today's Question: How are gas prices effecting Batavia's commuters, by Howard Owens
5. Feelin' it: Behind the scenes at WGCC 90.7 FM, by Philip Anselmo
6. Register to Vote, by Daniel Jones
7. You know you're from Batavia when…, by Ryan Sholin
8. Lewiston Road fire claims life of 17-year-old Erik Mooney, by Howard Owens
9. A Commentary on the Upcoming Presidential Election, by Conor Flynn
10. It Is All Just Words, by Patrick Burke

Our most viewed video so far is of the Lewiston Road fire.

UPDATE: In a story posted at 5:27 p.m., the Buffalo News reports that officials are pointing to a smoldering cigarette as the likely cause of the fire.

Genesee County Emergency Management Services coordinator Timothy J. Yaeger said the victim's mother, Judy Clark, 41, had been smoking in an nclosed porch about half an hour before the fire broke out ... 

---

WBTA reports that a discarded cigarette may have been the cause of the fire Friday morning that took the life of 17-year-old Erik Mooney.

The investigation continues and no conclusion has been reached.

The News 8 video report (warning: pre-roll advertising) says that Erik suffered from asthma and that may have contributed to his in ability escape the smoke-filled house.

The Buffalo News story includes quotes from officials and students at Erik's high school.

Erik was known among his classmates for his sense of humor and love of video games.

Fellow sophomore Roosevelt Little, 16, who shared several classes with Erik, described him as “laid back,” someone who loved to crack jokes and brighten others’ lives. Roosevelt said Erik was capable of getting all of the students he shared a table with in the cafeteria to laugh.

Erik was well-liked among his peers and became more outgoing as he got to know others, Roosevelt said.

“Some students were crying when they found out [about Erik’s death],” Roosevelt said. “Some were trying to hold in emotions. A lot left school early today.”

“Sometimes it feels like these things happen all at once,” he added, referring to another recent tragedy in the community.

The D&C story hasn't been updated, but a video has been added (again, pre-roll advertising).

Our Previous posts: Post #1, Post #2 (with our own video).

Interesting story this morning from the Buffalo News on struggles faced by chambers of commerce in the region  in recruiting and retaining members.

Part of the problem is the increasingly global and distributed economy, and part if it is the "bowling alone" syndrome.

Local quotes:

At the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, the nearly 900 members pay dues that start at $190 per year. Chamber President Lynn Freeman said about 80 percent of members are 50 years old and up, and 20 percent are under 50. But beyond the age discrepancy, he said there is more pressure than before to produce results and show younger members “that this is not an old man’s club.”

In Genesee County, the chamber and the Junior Chamber, an unconnected group of 21-to 39-year-olds, are mutually beneficial, said Melissa George, the 2006 president of Batavia Area Junior Chamber. George, who is executive assistant for the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, said the JC promotes chamber of commerce membership.

We say: Join the Chamber.  Join Rotary or the Lions or get involved with a literacy program or the animal shelter.  There are all kinds of civic and community groups that need your support.  Involvement and engagement is what fosters strong communities, drives the local economy, reduces crime and increases property values ... in other words, there are any number of "selfish" reasons to get involved beyond just plain feeling good about helping out and doing the right thing.

There are no new developments this afternoon in the Lewiston Road fire that claimed the life of 17-year-old Erik Mooney (previous post).

Attempts to contact fire officials this afternoon were unsuccesful.

We also tried contacting somebody with the area Red Cross to see what arrangements were being made to assist the family, but were unsuccessful.

Below are yearbook photos of Michael, 15, and Erik (right).

UPDATE: Video story from WHAM.

UPDATE II:  Here's News 8 coverage.  Watch the video to about 3/4 of the way in and notice how the reporter and producer insinuate that there is something suspicious about Erik not getting out of the house. Classic Mainstream Media technique to remain "objective" while pumping up the story with some controversy.  It's not just a TV thing.  Print does it, too. (Also, warning -- obnoxious pre-roll advertising on the video).

WKBW in Buffalo also posted a video report.

WIVB out of Buffalo has two video reports posted.  Good, detailed, balanced and sensative stories.

In today's Daily News:

• The lead story is about the tragic death of Erik Mooney, 17, in an early morning fire on Lewiston Road.  Exceptional lede from Scott DeSmit: "Despite smoke detectors, a barking dog and the screams of his mouth, a 17-year-old boy was unable to make it out of his burning house on Lewiston Road early this morning."  The Batavian posted about the fire at 7 a.m. this morning.  The Daily News story ads no new information.
• In budgeting utility prices for the new Sheriff's Office, the Building and Grounds department did not factor in continuous use of the communications center.  .... What??? .... That nugget is buried in the sixth graph of a story by Paul Mrozek about utility costs being $71,000 over budget.  That's a pretty significant, "oops."
• Joanne Beck writes about this year's Dancing Under the Stars fundraiser for United Way, which is June 7 at Genesee Community College's Stuart Steiner Theater, 1 College Road.
• Nice picture page today on page A-10.

Subscribe to the Daily News at BataviaNews.com, or pick up a copy at a local newsstand, such as Main Street Coffee.

Press Release from the City of Batavia:

Please be advised that the Charter Review Commission for the City of Batavia will hold a meeting on Monday, June 2, 2008.  The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Work Room on the second floor of the Batavia City Centre.  

The public can speak at the meeting by signing in with the Chairman prior to the start of the meeting. 

WBTA reports this morning:

• Officials believe an accident on Dodgeson Road went undiscovered for several hours. At about 5:30 this morning, a wrecked car was discovered with the driver inside, conscious but trapped.  Power tools were needed to open the car.
• David Bellavia won't challenge a GOP-endorsed candidate for congress. UPDATE: Here's the Buffalo News coverage.

Listen to WBTA AM 1490 for news updates throughout the day.

News 10 reports this morning that a 2 a.m. fire at 7881 Lewiston Road took the life of a 17-year-old boy.

Firefighters found him at the top of a staircase. He was taken to United Memorial Medical Center where he was prounounced dead at 3:30 a.m.

His brother managed to escape the fire by jumping from a bathroom window, but injured his arm in the fall.

The mother of the two boys escaped without injury.

The chief said the fire started on a porch and spread to the house. There were heavy flames when they arrived on scene.

The WHEC web story includes video.

We imagine WBTA will update its news page soon and will likely have the names of the victims this morning along with the latest additional information.

UPDATE: The names of the victims have not been released yet, WBTA reports.

UPDATE II: WBTA reports:

The Genesee County Sheriff's office has identified the boy as Erik Mooney of 7881 Lewiston Rd.

Erik, his mother, 41-year-old Judy Clark and 15-year-old brother Michael were all at home when the fire started. Judy suffered smoke inhalation. Michael cut his arm jumping from a bathroom window. Both were treated at UMMC in Batavia.

UPDATE III:  The D&C reports:

Another resident, Scott Clark, 47, was not home when the fire broke out, deputies said. He was at work.

The brothers are both students at Oakfield-Alabama Central School District. District Superintendent Christopher Todd this morning said the mood in the 1,000-student distinct was somber and that many of the students were “having a tough day.”

“It’s awful, but we’ll band together,” he said. Grief counselors are available at Oakfield-Alabama Middle/High School today to assist students, faculty and staff, Todd said.

...

Judy Clark told firefighters that a sounding smoke detector and barking family dog alerted her of the blaze.

Genesee County Fire Coordinator and Manager Tim Yaeger said authorities are trying to confirm a report that Judy Clark attempted to extinguish the blaze with a garden hose this morning. He said authorities did not know whether that occurred before or after she called 911.

UPDATE IV: WHAM coverage can be seen here. 

The D&C profiles Batavia's Brothers-All-Natural, which makes healthy crispy snacks.

Buried deep in the story is some pretty big news:

Brothers-All-Natural recently signed a multi-year license agreement with the Walt Disney Company to co-brand its product with Disney characters, to go into stores in July at Toys "R" Us, Kids "R" Us, Babies "R" Us and Wal-Mart.

"This is a huge stamp of approval when you get a name like Disney to associate themselves with your brand," said Matthew Betters, 36, co-CEO of Brothers-All-Natural.

Near the end of the story, we also learn the 15-employee company has offices in Ecuador and North Carolina, in addition to Batavia, but manufactures its products in China.

UPDATE: Here's the video.  Original post below.  We have no additional information at this time.

Fire dispatchers received a call of a house fire at 8700 S. Lake Road in Corfu area at about 2 p.m.

Apparently, nobody was home and there were no reported injuries. 

A family of five rents the two-story structure.  Reportedly, their cats were in the house and may have perished.

The fire appears to have started in the kitchen area, which sustained the most damage, and spread to the living room and up the stairs.

The Red Cross has been notified.

A cause has not been determined.

Units from Pembroke, East Pembroke, Corfu, Akron, Batavia and others responded.

We expect to post a video within a couple of hours (assuming no technical difficulties).

A reporter from WBTA was also on scene, so tune into 1490 for further reports.

6:05 a.m., 8 Masse Place, criminal mischief
7:10 a.m., 136 W. Main St., accident
12:13 p.m., 40 City Centre, larceny
3:34 p.m., 10 W. Main St., criminal contempt
5:25 p.m., 116 State St., fight
6:02 p.m., 260 State St., larceny
9:45 p.m., Ellicott St., harassment
 

I forgot to count the total number of items, frankly.  We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

UPDATE:  Also, we received a press release from the BPD on an arrest made yesterday at 5:15 p.m.  Charged with meanacing 2nd degree and criminal possion 4th was Kim R. Ransom of 218 State St. Ransom was held on $1,000 bail. She was charged after she reportedly displayed a knife and threatened another person.

From today's Daily News:

• Scott DeSmit reports that Le Roy trustees voted Wednesday to merge its dispatch operations with the county. Trustees hope to transfer some jobs to county dispatch, but recognize that may difficult since Batavia agreed to the same consolidation previously and is already slated to transfer two jobs.
• Cold War veterans may get a tax break. The County Legislature is pursuing a 10 percent tax credit on the first $60,000 of a home's accessed value for Cold War veterans.  The Batavian posted on this story two weeks ago.
• Holli Gass, 17, when she graduates from Pembroke High School, will represent the fifth generation from her family to graduate from a school in the Pembroke district.  Kristen Kotz, a Daily News intern, wrote a nice feature story on the family.  It's the center package of today's paper.  Nice clip, Kristen.
• The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council at 201 E. Main St. will host a "Building a Vibrant Community Identity" workshop from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., June 5.  It's all about "building a brand" that people remember is geared primarily toward non-profits, but writer Joanne Beck suggests that some commercial businesses are participating.  The deadline to register is Monday.
• Hot Shot's Caffe has opened a second location at 56 Harveter Ave., according to an article on page A2.
• Scott DeSmit passes along a reminder from fire officials to check your smoke detector.  You want to make sure your smoke detector doesn't have a dead battery or otherwise won't function properly in an emergency.
• A letter to the editor from Rose M. Ruhlman praises Lt. Eugene Jankowski and questions the wisdom of passing him over for the chief-of-police role.  She makes good points.  The Batavian broke the story last week that Jankowski was apparently out of contention for top post.
• Former Buffalo Bills guard Joe DeLamielleure will be at Terry Hills Golf Course from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday signing autographs.  Joe D. is in town for the Jim Kelly Celebrity Golf Classic, which takes place Monday at Terry Hills.
• Former Batavian Patric Donaghue was inducted into the Rochester United States Bowling Association Hall of Fame.  Before moving to Rochester in 1981, Donaghue started his bowling career at Mancuso Lanes.

The Daily News is available at local news stands, including at Main Street Coffee, and you should subscribe, and can do so on the Daily News web site.

WBTA has posted several items available in it's June 7 "Father's Day" auction.

Interesting items include:

• One night at Delta Toronto East
• Four-pack to Martin's Fantasy Island
• Birthday party blow out at the Gravel Pit

The auction will run from 9 a.m. to noon.

Dan Fischer just told me that he'll be posting more items this afternoon.

Merchants who still wish to participate have until tomorrow to contact WBTA.

On June 6 at Batavia Downs, there will be a Festival of Hope to benefit the Genesee Cancer Assistance program.

The event runs from 4 p.m. and includes a Kidsfest starting at 5 p.m.

Children 8 and under can be pre-registered by parents calling Jennifer Lewis at 820-6946.

Tonette Stone of Noah's Ark Animal Workshop sent us a message this morning about her participation in the Kidsfest.

Noah's Ark Animal Workshop will be taking pre-orders for our Hope Bear to be delivered at the event.  The cost is $25, with $5.00 going to the GCA fundraiser.  We will also be selling "Wishing Stars" throughout the event at $3.00 each with all the proceeds going to GCA. 

For more information, click here.