ND Senior in the Spotlight

Ashley Calarco ‘09

Ashley Calarco ’09, daughter of Joseph and Michelle Calarco, is a very well-rounded individual and exceptional student-athlete at ND!

Assuming the role of a leader is nothing new for Ashley. The Vice President of the ND Chapter of the National Honor Society and a member in good standing of NHS since her Junior year, Ashley has also served as her Class of 2009 Vice-President for the past two years and Captain of our Varsity Girls Fighting Irish Cross Country team since her Sophomore year. She has worked as a volunteer at All Babies Cherished for the past four years and was recently commissioned as a Eucharistic Minister at ND during our opening day mass on September 5, 2008.

Ashley has earned high honor role status each marking period during her ND career, as well as perfect attendance recognition during her 9^th and 10^th grade years! She has received numerous academic awards during her four years at ND including overall highest average recognition for Mathematics, AP English , Theology and Drawing and Painting, as well as recognition by the American Chemical Society for achievement in the field of Chemistry.

An outstanding Cross Country runner, Ashley entered our recently-concluded season as the three time Section V Class D Defending Girls Cross Country Champion, each time qualifying to represent Section V in the NYSPHSAA state meet. She has received Genesee Region League All Star status and earned Track/Cross Country NYS Scholar-Athlete recognition during all four years at ND! Ashley’s bid for a 4^th straight Class D championship and trip to the NYSPHSAA meet came to an end a week prior to this year’s meet when she was sidelined with a fractured foot. In true leadership form, she made the trip to Marcus Whitman Central and vocally supported her teammates while on crutches at the recent Sectional meet.

Ashley is interested in pursuing a degree in graphic design after her June 2009 graduation from ND and is currently pursuing early admission to Syracuse University as her number one college choice.

We are all proud to call Ashley one of our own and wish her the best of luck during the remainder of her senior year and next year at college!

A Batavia man was one of two arrested yesterday following an investigation into the home invasion in Newstead Tuesday evening, state police said. The Batavian reported the news yesterday, prior to any arrests. A homeowner in the town of Newstead reported to police that a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt knocked on his front door Tuesday evening around 9 o'clock. Police report: "As the victim was about to let the suspect in, he observed the suspect reach into his pocket." When the homeowner tried to close the door to prevent the man from entering, several shots were fired. The man then fled the scene. All of the shots hit the door and the wall of the home. No one at the scene was injured.

Both Norman P. Michael, 23, of 303 Bank St., Batavia (right), and Albert J. Bauer, 39, of Akron (left), was charged with a felony count of second-degree attempted murder and a felony count of criminal possession of a weapon.

Both men were sent to the Erie County Jail without bail. They will reappear in court on December 10. State police have said that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending.

A few weeks ago, we introduced our readers to Gina Pero, a hometown girl living out her dream on the stage, under the lights, kicking her legs, wowing the crowds. Yesterday, we met Emily Tworek Helenbrook, another hometown girl with lofty artistic aspirations and the talent to achieve them.

Emily is an ambitious 14 years old, the granddaughter of a former Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra concertmaster. So yeah, she says, music is in the family. Emily sings, plays the piano and the violin. Oh, and she plans to study law or linguistics... you know, so she has something to fall back on in case anything should happen to her voice.

She first took the stage when she was seven. She played Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz in her grade school Follies. Her twin brother and older brother performed with her, as well. Singing "Over the Rainbow" in the school's auditorium was enough to seal the deal, and it wasn't long after that first performance that Emily's aunt and mother started booking her shows in the area.

Soon enough, Emily got a reputation—and once you hear her sing, you'll understand why—and by the time she was 13, she had been invited to join the Buffalo group, Ars Nova, for the Viva Vivaldi Festival. Her solo debut was a Vivaldi motet!

Lessons, too, have been on her schedule. Emily has been studying at the Eastman School, and she plans to head to the Metropolitan Opera House for auditions when she turns 18.

"If I don't get right in, I'll keep trying until I do," she says.

Opera is her favorite, although she is especially fond of Baroque.

"Vivaldi, especially," she says. "It's really technical and very interesting."

This past Sunday, Emily debuted with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist at the Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church in Clarence. She and the BPO will repeat that performance at the M&T Gold Dome Bank in downtown Buffalo on December 13. That concert will be free to the public. It begins at 1:00pm.

Our state representative, Assemblyman Steve Hawley, was one of several interviewed recently by Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle about the push for complete financial disclosure by state lawmakers. From the article:

State law requires lawmakers, who are part-time even though their government salaries are $79,500 a year (plus stipends for every senator and about two-thirds of Assembly members) to report any sources of outside income of more than $1,000 to the Legislative Ethics Commission, which is made up of a majority of lawmakers and has never publicly criticized a lawmaker.

They also report to the commission ranges of their income, in six categories ranging from less than $5,000 to more than $250,000.

The public can see the sources of the income, but not the categories of the amounts.

When asked if he would support more comprehensive measures of disclosure, Hawley responded: "That would serve no useful purpose now." However, despite his feeling that the law would be useless, Hawley nevertheless said he was for more disclosure.

Assemblyman Dan Burling out of Alexander had this to say: "I don't think changing a law will change a person's integrity. It comes down to a person being honest."

What? Then why do we have laws? Isn't our penal system based upon reform, which implies that integrity is not a fixed virtue? Doesn't the very notion of parole or institutions such as drug court imply that people can "be reformed" despite past incriminations?

Sen. Vincent Leibell, out of Putnam County, told the Democrat & Chronicle that he is against more discolsure. He claims that such reform would lead to an "erosion of privacy" and "discourage people" from serving on the legislature. Is there really a lack of people unwilling to take $80,000 for a part-time job?

Leibell's fellow Putnam County legislator, Assemblyman Greg Ball, sees things quite differently.

"While a lot of people focus on campaign-finance laws, as long as you allow outside business interests, there will be corruption," (he) said... Ball introduced a bill this year to prohibit lawmakers from earning money beyond their state salaries, but it went nowhere in the Assembly and was not introduced in the Senate.

Do constituents have the right to know if their representatives are making money on the side? Do they deserve to know from whom and how much and how often?

Keeping such information secret "confirms the worst suspicions of cynics who say that the elected representatives don't work for the people — they have outside interests that have primacy," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York. "Lawmakers have to understand how outrageous that is to the average citizen."

Lerner makes a fine point. But this whole debate brings up a much greater issue: How much transparency should be demanded by the people of their representatives? If the people of New York already feel that many, if not most, of their lawmakers are not getting the job done for them, doesn't it only make it worse to find out that the person you're paying $80,000 makes $150,000 from some other source? What if those two sources come into conflict? Lerner hints at this very situation, or at least the perception of such a situation. What do you think? What are the rules in other states?

Please be sure to check out the full article by Jay Gallagher and Heather Senison out of Gannett's Albany Bureau.

A livestock feed facility that caught fire in Bethany yesterday morning and burned for more than seven hours has sustained more than $1 million in damage, according to the Daily News. An initial investigation into the blaze that destroyed the structure has been attributed to a dust explosion inside the exhaust system.

In other news, Kevin J. Weber, 37, of Batavia, was sentenced to 1 1/2 to three years in state prison Tuesday. Weber pleaded guilty to fourth-degree arson for setting a storage shed on fire in September. He had previously been in jail for more than four years for an arson fire in Byron in 2002.

Batavia Downs should wrap up the season with an overall handle of about $6.2 million, a $500,000 increase over the wagers from last year. Also, revenue from the video gaming machines may exceed $30 million, which amounts to about 10 percent more than last year.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

An article in the Buffalo News this morning got me thinking. Briefly, the article is about Robert Wilmers, chief executive officer of M&T Bank Corp. Wilmers spoke to an audience of venture capitalists about revitalizing the upstate economy.

He pointed out that New York City’s economy — until recently — had been doing "a lot better than the economy upstate."

Part of that is due to what he called the "innate attributes" of the city itself, but he also cited the "billions and billions of dollars" spent on projects such as the 42nd Street revival, the South Street Seaport, the Jacob Javits Center and Ground Zero.

By contrast, "in upstate, including Western New York, we have not seen any large projects."

Indeed, Wilmers said he was told by former downstate Empire State Development chairman Patrick Foye that up to 70 percent of the agency’s money was spent upstate, but "I was having trouble finding that."

So this got me thinking. Rochester tried for its home-run project some years back. Who here remembers the fast ferry? Connect Rochester to Toronto. Boost tourism. Bring in the money. Yeah... So, that one tanked. Big.

But what about Batavia... what could we do for Batavia that would give it that shot in the arm, get the kids out walking the streets and the old folks dancing in their homes? Money rolling in, fame, glory. We're not on a body of water, so we don't have to worry about a ferry flop. We've already got the "mall" that people love to hate.

Wilmers:

Finally, the region should combine tourism and its renowned architecture to draw in visitors. “We’ve been less successful than most communities in upstate New York,” he said dryly. “We have not destroyed as many architectural sites as other parts of the country.”

Batavia has plenty of architecture to show off: glorious old homes, towering brick churches, regal crumbling mansions.

So... We had the chance to ask Pat Weissend what he would want for Batavia. Weissend is the director of the Holland Land Office Museum. He says, why not think even bigger. Something huge, something humungous! At a recent meeting of the Kiwanis Club, Weissend heard a presentation by economic developer Chad Zambito about erecting an enormous technological-industrial park in Alabama. This industrial center would create 10,000 jobs and entirely transform the character of the region, says Weissend.

Well, either that, or establish the state of Genesee. "We could be the 51st state," he says. Just make sure there's enough money left over to triple the size of the museum.

Wesley Thigpen, 27, of 18 Maple St., Batavia, was charged with felony driving while intoxicated and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation Sunday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Thigpen was stopped on Route 33 in the town of Stafford. He was also ticketed with three traffic violations. Thigpen was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $1,000 bail.

State police in Clarence are currently investigating a home invasion in the town of Newstead. From the press release:

On December 2, 2008 at approximately 9:05 p.m., the State Police in Clarence received a report of an attempted home invasion and shooting that occurred on Crittenden Road in the Town of Newstead.  The victim contacted the State Police and advised that a white male, approximately 28-33 years old, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt knocked on the door of his residence and asked to use the phone.  As the victim was about to let the suspect in, he observed the suspect reach into his pocket.  The victim feared for his safety and shut the door to prevent the suspect from entering.  At that time at least six gun shots were fired striking the door and wall of the residence.  The subject then fled the scene.  No one at the scene was injured.   At this time, the State Police in Clarence in conjunction with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the incident and have a person of interest in custody.  Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact SP Clarence at (716) 759-6831.

More than 260 area employees will soon be without a job. WBTA's Dan Fischer reports that the Seneca Gaming Corp. will be laying off 210 of its workers, all of whom are employed at the casinos in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Salamanca. Seneca cites the "worsening economy." Also, in Rochester, the Democrat & Chronicle will be eliminating 59 jobs, 34 of which will be paid off this week. That accounts for 8 percent of the total workforce, according to an article from the Associated Press, which has this to say of the newspaper layoffs:

The newspaper has not yet specified how many of the layoffs will occur in the newsroom. After the cuts are made, it will have 680 full-time and part-time employees.

Publisher Ali Zoibi says rising costs and a drop in advertising and circulation revenue have created what he called "this unpleasant situation."

He said the newspaper also is trimming non-payroll expenses.

Tough times, it seems, all over.

We're testing an other poll provider.  Here's today's poll:

Beginning this January, Genesee Community College will host a pair of related courses for three successive semesters on "Exploring Business Opportunities" and "Entrepreneurship." Associate Professor Barbara Shine welcomes innovators large and small. If you've got the sure-fire idea for the next big thing, you're welcome. If you're not sure what you want to do, but you know you've got the gumption, you're welcome, too.

As for the best news: it's free, and anyone can attend the courses. College students. Retirees. Workers. Anyone. Just be sure to get your application in by January 15 to be considered for this coming semester. (Scroll down to the end of the post for all the details).

Earlier this week, we took a moment to sit down and chat with Barbara Shine, to pick her brain a bit about what it takes to build a successful business. Here's what she had to say:

The Batavian: Much has been made in advance of the courses about the rough economy and this being, in fact, a great time for entrepreneurs. In the press release sent out by the college, for example, we read: "With the unemployment rate at 6.5% and expected to climb higher, entrepreneurs and energetic American inventors and innovators are an essential element in the recovery of the nation's economy." Can you explain why that is the case?

Barb Shine: Well, we know, because of the employment world, that small businesses hire more people than the total who work for large corporations. That's where the opportunities are. We as entrepreneurial educators need to remind folks from an economic standpoint that it's the small businesses that raise the opportunities to support our communities from an economic standpoint. However, small businesses may have a poor track record of staying in business for a long time. But that is where we as educators can help out. There are a lot of places for entrepreneurs to get education.

What advice might you have for folks who may be considering going into business for themselves? What should they consider at the outset?

First, you need to verify that the market is interested in your concept. I call them concepts. You need to do market research. Find out what alternatives are out there for a consumer. Find out how does your product differentiate itself. Those questions need to be answered. Also, the market has to be big enough to be profitable for the individual. So you look at marketing, first, then financial feasibility, then operations.

One of the beauties of the course is that we will tell people what's out there, what the market will bear from a trend standpoint. People need to understand that (doing) what we're passionate about and making it work in the marketplace can be two different things.

An entrepreneur needs to always be looking out for the next best thing. You do this by social networking, reading the magazines, looking at the competition—and not necessarily the logical competitors. Who would have thought that the customer service style for Disney would work in a bank? In fact, Disney sells their customer service package to large financial institutions.

What will each class entail? Do people need to attend both? Can they attend one and not the other?

In the first class, "Exploring Business Opportunities," the questions that should get answered include: Do I have the right concept that the market would be interested in? Am I passionate enough? Because it requires lots of energy, time, money. Do I have what it takes? What do I need to think about from marketing, operations and financial standpoints? Then we need to verify that there is a market, make sure there is enough of a popoluation and buyers.

In the second class, "Entrepreneurship," we will put a plan together. This class qualifies the details of what I need to do to make it happen. It's the five P's: proper planning prevents poor performance. The goal is to plan... And assuming they need funding, they will use that plan to support loan or investor options. In most cases, folks do bootstrapping entrepreneurship: That's where funding is minimal: from family, savings, second mortgage—they bootstrap it if they can.

How are things looking right now as far as loan options?

It depends on how much money an individual is looking for, their personal credit line. Do I think it's at a standstill because of the credit crisis: No. The basics are still important. There are other alternatives aside from banks, other investor opportunities. Personality, their own financial background—there's an array of variables. An entrepreneur shouldn't be deterred if they have a great idea and there's a market... but they need to come to the table with the right plan to turn their business into a profitable entity.

Shine also spoke about specific trends that are hot right now on the market. They include: green energy, organic foods, Web applications, and alternative energy solutions. In fact, the December issue of Entrepreneur magazine is devoted to the upcoming trends and might be a good read for those considering taking the courses and testing the waters with their own idea.

From the press release:

The Genesee Community College scholarship program is part of the collaborative WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) grant, wherein eligible participants will be reimbursed for the cost of tuition and books for two college entrepreneurship courses offered in this coming Spring, Summer and Fall of 2009. The scholarship grants are valued at approximately $500 per semester for enrolling and completing Business 111: Exploring Business Opportunities; and Business 225: Entrepreneurship.

Interested individuals should submit the scholarship application form and related materials as soon as possible. The application deadline for the Spring 2009 semester is January 15th. Women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. Scholarship awardees will be notified prior to the start of each course.

For more information on the program or to get a copy of the scholarship application, visit the college's Web site.

Coincidentally, SUNY Geneseo is right now looking for business mentors for their Young Entrepreneurs Academy at the college. From the Academy:

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is a program for middle and high school students that teaches them how to launch and run their very own business.

Mentors will have the opportunity to assist their student group in the process of developing and writing a business plan and creating an investor presentation used to request funding. We also encourage mentors to share their business experiences with the groups over the course of their meetings. Previous students have indicated that hearing first-hand accounts from members of the business community make a significant impact on what they are learning.

Visit the program's Web site for more information.

A grain barn on Creek Road in the town of Bethany caught fire this morning and all but burned to the ground, according to the Daily News. One farm worker on scene was taken to United Memorial Medical Center for treatment of minor smoke inhalation. No one else was injured in the blaze that, at one point, threatened to explode a row of propane tanks.

Reporter Scott DeSmit tells the story of the fire in a vivid narrative. Here's just a snippet:

Flames quickly tore through the thin metal roof and sides of the barn. Electrical service in the front popped like fireworks, sending bursts of green and white sparks into the air and causing concern that the live lines would soon catch fire and fall.

More than a dozen fire crews were still on scene at 10 o'clock this morning, two hours after the fire erupted. WBTA's Dan Fischer informs us that Creek Road was closed off between Putnam and Brookville roads.

Batavia Downs will close the track for the season after this Saturday. Unlike last year, Tom Rivers reports that the horses will be allowed to stay at the raceway instead of having to head to Buffalo, as they did last year.

Batavia city school students will be allowed to attend a biotechnology at Genesee Community College for free and earn a college credit thanks to a grant from Bank of America.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

Daryl M. Oar, 38, of 3865 Pike Road, Batavia, was charged with second-degree harassment and resisting arrest Sunday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Oar was picked up by deputies following an investigation into a fight at his address. He was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $500 bail.

Pavilion's Steve Rigoni is the subject of an article in today's Buffalo News. Rigoni is a cash crop farmer, descendent of three generations of upstate dairy farmers, who has been featured in a pair of videos on The Batavian for his construction of a corn dryer that is fueled by switchgrass rather than propane. (If you haven't seen either of those videos yet, please check them out. It's pretty remarkable what Rigoni put together... from scratch.)

In the Buffalo News piece, Rigoni is in the spotlight again for his allegiance to alternative energies—this time, for mounting a windmill outside his home. From that article:

It’s easy to spot Steve Rigoni’s place in Pavilion — just look for the wind turbine spinning high above his house.

“I look at it as my midlife thing,” Rigoni said. “Some people get a Corvette, or a new woman — I got a windmill.”

His 10-kilowatt Bergey Windpower rig is hardly a wanton spree, however. While it cost him $25,000, after state incentives, it has nearly wiped out electric bills that used to average $120 to $140 a month.

Reporter Fred O. Williams calls it "wind power to the people."

For Rigoni, converting to wind power was as much a labor of love, he said, as it was about economics. A proponent of alternative energy, he also heats his home partly with wood, and burns switchgrass instead of propane to dry corn for his farming operation.

But the wind turbine pays its way. For the last two years, it has pumped out about 800 kilowatt-hours a month, powering Rigoni’s washer, dryer, water heater, fridge and lights.

When the wind is blowing but the appliances aren’t on, the turbine spins his electric meter backward, generating a small credit toward future energy use.

“We don’t ever make much money on it,” he said.

It turns out that the Great Lakes region is "a prime wind-resource area," especially in the colder months, which would be good news for folks like us who max out our energy bills come January and February. But is it really worth it?

Does small wind save money? The rule of thumb is that a well-located turbine with an average wind speed of 12 mph and with 10-kilowatt capacity can generate about 1,000 kilowatt- hours a month, or enough to power a typical home — not counting heating or air-conditioning. Whether that will break even over the 20-year life of a turbine depends on current and future electricity rates. Utility rates of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour begin to make the cost of wind attractive.

Wind power economics just got a push from Congress. The financial bailout package enacted in October included a tax credit of up to $4,000 for small wind systems.

So, would you do it?

A dozen prison farms across the state will be closed down over the next six months, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. That includes the farm in Attica. The State Department of Corrections has said that the cost of maintaining the farms exceeds the revenue brought in by the produce. Don't know about anyone else, but I was surprised to hear that these farms still existed.

A JP Morgan Call Center based in Albion will remain open, and its 850 employees will remain at work. Fischer reports that there had been concern over whether the center would remain open after Chase acquired Washington Mutual two months ago.

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Now that the almost inevitable selection of Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State is official, the already drawn out speculation of who will fill her seat is in full swing and will no doubt dominate news coverage for the next few weeks.  I was thinking today though, what if Governor Paterson had to choose from Genesee County, seeing how close the Democorats are to having a 60 vote majority, the likelihood of him picking a Republican is slim....so popular Republican Assemblyman Steve Hawley, or really any other known Republican would be out of the question.

In this fun hyothetical, or shall I say, localthetical, who would Governor Paterson pick if he had to choose from Genesee County leaders?

Obviously, in terms of name recognition he would start with major Government leaders, so number 1 on the list would probably be Batavia City Council President Charlie Mallow.  Love the guy or hate him (personally I like the guy), he brought the City into the black, worked across the aisle to bring proposed tax increases far down from their original expectations and was the leader of two tickets that led to Democratic control of the City Council, he's also shown that he has the fundraising ability to help large scale fundraising efforts in Batavia and county wide. 

Perhaps Paterson would also consider the straight-shooting Rosemary Christian, with her reputation as a fighter and her popularity with the local ethnic communities, she wouldn't back down to Republican pressure in the US Senate.  Paterson also might be credited for picking a 'maverick' , who sincerley votes with her conciense and puts the interests of working people first. 

The level headed Kathy Briggs may also play a factor in Paterson's mind, she also has shown that she can work well across the aisle and still stands up for what she believes in, her background as a teacher may also be a major bonus, Briggs also has good relations with the local Conservative party, and could possibly pull their support. 

Ed DeJanerio would also be given obvious consideration, he's defined himself locally as a scrappy campaigner who doesn't just beat his opponents, he gives them an electoral thrashing through careful and positive messaging and by hitting every single house in his district.  Ed is a careful and moderate leader in the County Legislature who focuses on constituant services.

Batavia School Board President Pat Burk would cleary be the "education" choice, he's been working with education on the board before I was even a thought in anyone's minds he's lead the district through thick and then and has brought Batavia into respectability state wide, especially with Batavia High School being such a high-performing school.  His selection would also be a bonus because of his work with the State School Boards Association, Burk could act as a representative on education on behalf of President Obama statewide. 

Paterson could also pull a triple whammy by selecting School Board Member Gary Stich, the current President and CEO of Oxbow corporation, thus adding private sector bonfidias along with an obvious interest in education with the know-how and connections to turn around the upstate economy, I'm not entirely sure of his partisan affiliation, so obviously some agreement with him caucusing with the Democrats would have to be worked out (if he isn't already one).

Maybe Paterson would reach into LeRoy for his selection, former party Chair Ray Yaccuzo has been active in environmental issues and has been a community leader outside of politics for most of his life, in addition he has valuable executive experience being the former mayor of LeRoy. 

Speaking of former LeRoy mayors, Jim Delooze would also recieve close attention, he also has good relations with the local Conservative party and really put his heart and soul into Leroy.  Despite his defeat in his last election, it appears that his careful budgeting and smart governing left LeRoy in a pretty good position, and with his energetic campaign style he certainly would be an asset to the Democrats.

There's also possible picks from the surronding towns, such as Barb Kapperman, a former candidate for County Treasurer and who has had much experience working with Government finance, can you say budget balancer?

Now we go back to the reality of Governor Paterson's possible picks, Andrew Cuomo, Brian Higgins, Byron Brown, Nydia Valesquez and Steve Israel, all great possible picks without a question....but just think of all the great choices Governor Paterson would have if he was limited to Genesee County.

Driving through downtown Batavia earlier today, I spotted a curious motor vehicle parked out front of a home on North Street, just east of Bank Street. In fact, it so caught my attention that I turned around at Dwyer Stadium and drove back just to take its picture.

One need catch only a mere glimpse of this truck to be dazzled, and that's without even knowing what splendors might be tucked away in its spacious cab—itself retro-embellished with umber stripes that can still be somewhat discerned beneath the cacophony of stickers. And oh, such stickers! It's probably impossible to see in these couple of photos here, but the stickers are no less than a paean to our American identity, albeit one that leans to the right. From "Fishaholic" and "Semper Fi" to "Let Freedom Ring" and "God Bless Ronald Reagan" (yikes), they are a testament to the wonder and ubiquity of American products, presidents, pastimes and... branches of the military.

Yet this truck has more to recommend than carpet cleaners (you might be able to make out the "Castle" sticker to the right and near the bottom of the window). It tells a story, some of which we can decipher from the few superficial clues we have here. We may infer, for example, that the owner is a traveller who once served in the military and enjoys the sport of fishing. This truck is an enormous symbol of self decked out in hundreds of smaller symbols that sharped the bigger picture we get in the first glance. In addition to the United States sticker, the hood also bears one for Wales and another for Poland. Are these indicatiors of ancestral nationality or places the owner visited? What of the stained-glass windows above the windshield and doors? Are they symbols of a religious sentiment or merely decorative?

How would you imagine the owner of this truck? Perhaps... A middle-aged fellow. A bit grizzled. A bit gray. Laughs heartily. Eats beef jerky. Doesn't mind if he gets lost, although he likely never does, having travelled coast to coast to coast, and back again. What do you think?

Do you know this truck? Is it your truck? Can you tell its story?

Clocking in at No. 7 in the Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous is Terry Anderson, America's longest-held hostage in the Middle East, whose release set off a media blitz upon the city of Batavia, the likes of which Genesee County had never seen.

Holland Land Office Museum Director Pat Weissend:

On March 16, 1985, former Batavia resident Terry Anderson had just finished a game of tennis in Beirut, Lebanon when three gunmen pulled up in a green Mercedes and kidnapped him. This was day one in a 2,454 day ordeal that captivated the City of Batavia, Genesee County, the United States and the world.

[...]

His captors were a group of Shiite Muslims. During his captivity, Anderson was tortured and beaten. He didn’t know from one day to the next if he would be released or killed. He turned to the Bible for peace and wrote poetry.

After being imprisoned for nearly seven years, Anderson was released on December 4, 1991. After his release he spent a few days in a hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany before returning to the United States. 

For more on Terry Anderson, visit the museum's Web site.

In a side note: This terra cotta sculpture here of Anderson was dropped off at the Holland Land Office Museum last week and should be up on display for folks who want to check it out up close.

We're looking for a family in need. In particular, a family in the Batavia area with young children whose parents will be unable to provide gifts this holiday season. Over the weekend, The Batavian received a request from a reader who is coming to the area with his family during the upcoming holidays. He wrote to us:

"Myself and my family are going to be vacationing in the Batavia area visiting family for the Christmas and New Year's Holiday. We would like to find a family with children who will not be able to provide gifts and/or food for the children."

If you know of a family who might fit the bill, please pass along the information so that we may get them in touch with this giving family from Phoenix. You can reach me via e-mail or by phone: (585) 802-3032. Call anytime. Leave a message if there's no answer.