Recently convicted killer Robert Kirkup has got the attention of Dateline NBC, which plans to devote segment of its news magazine show this spring or summer retracing the path Kirkup took leading up the murder of his wife at a Genesee County campground, according to the Daily News.

Scott DeSmit spoke with County District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, who is being interviewed for the show. Friedman had this to say about the interest in the case:

"I think it's the elements of a cold case. ... You have a 16-year-old murder, an infirm, older defendant, a body that was never found and the fact that he was interviewed (by police) in the same motor home that he killed her in 16 years ago."

DeSmit was unable to connect with the show's producer. No one yet knows if the crews will be filming in Genesee County.

In other news, a mix-up Monday afternoon led to a 7-year-old Batavia city school student getting on the wrong bus and dropped off a few miles from her home. The girl, Emily DiSanto, did eventually make it back home safely. School Superintendent Margaret Puzio said that the schools will now require each child to carry a bus pass "with his/her name, address, drop-off point and bus number on it" so that this mishap is not repeated.

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

The political newsletter Cook Report now lists the NY-26 race between Republican Chris Lee and Democrat Alice Kryzan as a toss up. The blog of the College Democrats of NY has a quote purportedly from the report, but no link to the source document.

The Buffalo News has a story up about the misleading campaign ads from both sides. It's mostly stuff we've covered before, but you get some new quotes from the candidates. The new bits would be that attorney's from the other side of the Love Canal law suit have come out in support of Kryzan defending her against Lee's attack ads, and the employee's of Lee's company are defending Chris Lee against charges that the company has outsourced jobs to China.

The 26th District Blog has the text of the full letter from Enidine employees.

Jill Terreri of the Democrat & Chronicle runs down area House races. She suggests that Kryzan is doing well in the district by riding Barack Obama's coattails. While that may be a part of it, I think it misses the fact that there are significant differences in campaign styles, which we discussed previously. Terreri's report runs through the candidates stands on various issues and some of the mudslinging.  If you haven't been following the race, it's a good primer.

Three young parents have been accused of trying to steal "numerous" items from Kmart in Batavia Tuesday morning by stuffing them into their children's diaper bags, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Natalie M. MacArthur, 25, of Rochester; Melissa J. Ricigliano, 28, and Nicholas M. Ricigliano, 24, both of 132 State St. (Lower), Batavia, were charged with petit larceny. Three children were with the parents at the time: a 3-year-old, a 10-month-old and a 4-week-old.

Robert Sanfilippo, 49, of Depew, was charged with aggravated harassment Tuesday for an incident that occurred on October 1, deputies said. Sanfilippo is accused of making threatening phone calls to another individual's cell phone.

Derek G. Thomas, 32, of no permanent address, was charged with aggravated harassment Tuesday, city police said. Thomas is accused of grabbing a female acquaintance by the neck and slamming her into a wall during a dispute at a residence on South Main Street Sunday evening.

Genesee County's Health Department will be holding another flu shot clinic this morning. This time it's in Corfu at the Corfu Presbyterian Church on Alleghany Road from 9:30am to noon.

 The Genesee Region League is typically very strong in volleyball, with Byron-Bergen, Notre Dame and Attica as top squads almost every year.

Those teams, a couple of others in the GR as well as Le Roy and Batavia are all kicking off the playoffs on Wednesday.

Byron-Bergen is 19-1, has won six consecutive sectional championships and will get the top seed in Class C, hosting No. 8 Marion in the first round at 6:30 p.m. 

Le Roy earned the top seed in Class CC with a 9-7 record and will host No 8 Sodus at 5 p.m.

Pembroke is a seventh seed and will be playing Mynderse at Victor at 5.

Batavia is a fourth seed and hosting No. 5 Aquinas at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Class BB with No. 4 Attica will host No. 5 Waterloo at 7 in Class B.

Notre Dame is a third seed - earning a bye - in Class D and is hosting either Houghton or Romulus at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Alexander was a ninth seed in Class DD and was at Perry Tuesday night, but got knocked out in the first round, 20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 26-16.

Chelsea Turcer had seven kills and seven aces for Alexander.

 I'll be visiting the five teams that are still playing in the Section 5 playoffs this week, doing video previews as well as my written ones. They will all be on The Batavian on Thursday to help fans get ready for the games.

Notre Dame will be playing Dundee on Saturday at  noon at PAETEC Park in the Class D finals.

Le Roy will play Letchworth at 1 p.m. with Pembroke vs. Oakfield-Alabama to follow at Aquinas in the Class C semifinals on Saturday.

Then Attica will play Bath at 6 p.m. Sunday at PAETEC in a Class B semifinal game.

I attended two practices today and will visit the other three teams on Wednesday and Thursday. You will get the most in-depth previews for local teams as we go deeper into the playoffs here at The Batavian.

I will also be covering games this weekend as well as doing a radio preview and guest appearance during the game on WVIN for the Attica/Bath game on Sunday. You will be able to hear the broadcast locally at www.localsportsedge.com. 

WBTA will also be broadcasting local games this weekend. The Notre Dame/Dundee game can be heard on 1490 AM or at www.wbta1490.com, and then at the conclusion of that game, Le Roy/Letchworth will be picked up. WBTA will stay on the air to cover the Oakfield-Alabama/Pembroke contest.

You will be able to see video highlights, a game story and photos of each game as soon as possible on The Batavian as well.

This is the first of two videos on my recent visit to Rolling Hills Paranormal Research Center in East Bethany. Rolling Hills is the site of the old Genesee County Home, former "poor house," home for the "insane," and nursing home. In this video, Rolling Hills owner Lori Carlson gives us a brief overview of the facility, its past inhabitants and its current inhabitants... that latter would be the ghosts.

Tomorrow, we hope to get up the second video, which will consist entirely of footage from my tour of the facility between the hours of 11:00pm and 3:00am. While I wasn't fortunate enough to stumble into any ghosts, I got some great shots of an eerie, disquieting and utterly fascinating space.

In the meantime, let's learn a little about this place...

Be sure to check out part one of our Halloween countdown, posted yesterday: Cooking with the Dairy Princess: Halloween Special (Jell-O Eyeballs).

Ah, the grand premier! Gina Pero remembers it well. She was four years old and already inspired by the spirit of dance. So inspired, in fact, that she danced right into the stage curtains. When her mother saw her little girl get caught there in the drapery, she thought for sure that was the end of that.

Instead, it was just the beginning. Curtains aside, Gina fell in love with the stage.

"I was a shy child," she says. "But not on the stage. It was that distance, being high up, that space between the stage and the audience, that fine line. I loved the lights. As soon as the lights hit me, I used to get that feeling like no other, like I was supposed to be on stage."

Dance turned out to be the one thing Gina Pero cherished almost as much as her family.

"Growing up in Batavia was great because my entire family lives there," says Gina. "We're a very close family."

Literally close. Gina told me how she used to walk to her "Nana and Papa's" house, just down the street, where she would fill up on homemade Italian meals—her favorite. That's probably the hardest thing about living in New York City now, she admits: being away from everyone back home.

But for the next month and a half she won't be too far.

On November 13, Gina will take the stage as a Radio City Rockette at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular will run nearly every day from then until November 30—sometimes up to four times in a day. (Follow the link above for ticket and showtime info.)

"For me to be a Rockette, I feel strong, I feel that I am a strong woman," she says. "I love the womanhood that is happening with the girls."

Rehearsal is strenuous, says Gina. All of the girls rehearse for at least six hours a day, not counting the time they spend before rehearsals warming up or the time after in the ice baths, cooling down, or, after all of that, the time most girls put in, still practicing, working late with the athletic directors, the choreographers, the stage managers.

"We have everything in the palm of our hands," she says.

Life as a Rockette may have been "one of the most amazing experiences" of Gina's life thus far, she admits, but it hasn't been the only one. Receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance education from the University of Buffalo in 2002 was a fine moment. Dancing with magician Jason Byrne in Japan wasn't too bad either. Nor was going larger-than-life as a billboard model for the show "Air Play" at the Tropicana Resort in Las Vegas... to name a few. Let's not forget, either, that Gina was a heck of a cheerleader at Notre Dame, where she also landed herself in the national honor society.

These days, Gina's especially proud of a program she started in New York City called Inside Out. She explains it as "a program to help artists find their inner voice and stay positive." The idea is to "keep artists from giving up and help them find out who they are and to appreciate what they have."

For the folks back home who haven't yet been down to the Big Apple, Gina's got a helpful tip: "Know your train."

"It's fast paced here," she says. "We drive everywhere in Batavia, but in New York you walk or take the train. There's a lot more variety of things to do, as far as anything for anybody. Anyone can go there and find work and find fun and find a place to live."

Talking to Gina, who seems to have done more than most folks do in a lifetime, you get the sense that she has only just begun.

"I want to continue doing everything," she says. "I want to perform forever. There's no feeling like the feeling on stage. I'm really looking forward to opening night at Shea's. It's going to be an amazing experience for me and my family."

(Photos courtesy of Radio City Entertainment)

Batavia's City Council decided last night not to pitch in $2,750 toward a shared recreation study of park and play land in the city, according to the Daily News. Check out our post from a couple weeks ago for the details. Councilman Bob Boialkowski said he would rather the city sold the land to get it on the tax rolls, and he wasn't alone in that opinion. Reporter Joanne Beck wrote:

(City Council President Charlie) Mallow took the agreement as a directive to Molino He asked him to give the district a call and tell school officials the city isn't interested at this time.

In other news, Joanne Beck put together an excellent article on the city's decision to cut the position of plumbing inspector down from full- to part-time. Beck fleshes out that rather dry news by talking with the city's plumbing inspector, Barb Toal, and, in doing so, shows how a decision ostensibly made for the greater good impacts the livelihood of one individual. For example:

(Toal) will lose half of her salary ... and will now have to pay nearly $500 a month for health insurance. She will also have to work for a longer period of time to reach her full pension benefits since she's now being cut to part-time. She would have reached that goal by January.

Read this one if you have the time.

Beck also wrote an article on the discussion at last night's Council meeting about the city's ambulance service. That news was first featured here on The Batavian this morning when we picked it up from WBTA's coverage. If you're looking for more detail, you might want to check out the article in the paper.

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

This article is from April when Hillary Clinton was still a possible option. It is a very interesting read and, as the usual Kauffman style, illegitimizes all candidates as being from "nowhere... or everrywhere". In the end it is a very interesting use of 5 minutes of your time during this election season!

Folks from Corfu and Pembroke showed up to last night's meeting of the City Council to complain about the subsidies the city is charging their municipalities to maintain ambulance service, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. Batavia runs the county-wide ambulance through the fire department. City taxpayers have been making up the money lost by the ambulance service for some years now. Councilman Frank Ferrando said that the city should "get out of the business" of running the ambulance.

Fire crews will be flushing hydrants today and tomorrow. Residents of South Main, West Main, Roosevelt and South Lyon streets and those in the vicinity of these should watch for discoloration in their water.

An attorney from the Northwest is traveling the country blogging about America's county court houses.

Recently, he was in Batavia and did this post about our historic structure.

His goal is to document about 150 a year.

 With four teams still alive in the Section 5 playoffs, the Genesee Region League is having a heck of a postseason.

That was shown this week as four league players earned Player of the Week honors.

Notre Dame thumped Perry 56-0 in the Class D semifinals and got both the offensive and defensive POY.

Running back Mike Pratt rushed the ball nine times for 109 yards and three touchdowns and gets the offensive honor. Pratt is a 5-foot-9, 180-pound sophomore that led the Fighting Irish as the team rushed for 259 yards in the contest.

6-foot-1, 225-pound senior linebacker Craig Houseknecht had a sack on the opening Perry possession and finished the game with six solo tackles, six assists, the sack, a forced fumble and 1 1/2 tackles for losses of 26 yards to earn the defensive honor.

Pembroke beat Bishop Kearney 32-12 and 6-foot-5, 220-pound defensive end Ken Babcock was named the defensive POY. He had eight solo tackles, seven assists and knocked down a pass in the victory. Babcock also caught a touchdown pass in the win.

Attica's Dave Jennings was key in a historic 18-0 victory over East Rochester/Gananda this past weekend.

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound linebacker had nine tackles, a sack and an interception in the victory as the Blue Devils won a sectional football game for the second time ever.

Attica will be playing Bath in a semifinal game on Sunday while Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke play each other in the semifinals on Saturday. Notre Dame gets to try to avenge last season's loss to Dundee in the finals on Saturday as well.

Snub alert: Oakfield-Alabama's Tim Smith rushed for 196 yards, had 331 all-purpose yards and scored six touchdowns in a 63-34 win over Dansville in a Class C game. How did he not get recognized?

We begin our countdown to Halloween tonight with the first of five videos devoted to the celebration of the spooky. Our good friend Anika Zuber, the Genesee County Dairy Princess, will show us how to make Jell-O eyeballs, a perfect treat for the ghoul and goblin in your life. So, without further ado...

This is an impressive booklet to say the least.  Joe Mesi has put out a very detailed plan for the 61st Senate District.  Job creation, investing in our colleges and property tax reduction are just a few things that he touches on in this 17 page plan for change.

http://votejoemesi.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/plan-for-change.pdf

Alice Kryzan and Jon Powers stopped by the headquarters of the Genesee County Democrats this afternoon on their tour through the 26th district. The two Democrats are ramping up support for Kryzan in her bid to win the congressional seat that will be vacated by retiring incumbent Tom Reynolds. She will face Republican Chris Lee in the general election.

Although they were opponents in the primary, Powers has since come out in full support of Kryzan. Today, he proclaimed that endorsement, citing the message that has been repeated (almost ad nauseum) by Democrats, and often even by Republicans, during this campaign year: change. Voters "have a clear choice," he said, to accept "the same failed policies of the last eight years," or to vote for change. Needless to say, Powers held up Kryzan as a candidate of such change.

"I urge the voters of Western New York to vote for Alice," he said.

Genesee County Democratic Committee Chair Lorie Longhany introduced the two at a brief press conference. She spoke of Powers as "very, very dear to me" and said that his "grassroots campaign led a movement that left a mark in this community."

"His coming out ... sends a strong message across the rural community," she said.

For her part, Kryzan repeated the invocation of change, touting her devotion to "green energy" as part of that message. She called Powers "a worthy adversary" whom she is now thankful to have on her side and vowed to "fight for the 26th district" that has "not been well represented in a long time"—a jab, perhaps, at the outgoing Republican, Reynolds. She also said she wanted to "fulfill the role" of job creator.

"If you send me to Congress, I will get up every morning and ask myself with every item on my agenda: Will this benefit the 26th district? If the answer is no, I will take that item off the agenda."

We caught up with Kryzan after the press conference to ask a couple of questions. (Questions in bold. Responses in italics).

In the Democratic primary, a lot was made about the often divisive negative campaigning and your refusal to get involved in the mudslinging. We know that you can't do anything about the current negative ads being run by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee attacking your opponent Chris Lee. So what are you doing to ensure that voters know these commercials don't reflect your style?

There are two answers to that. One, when asked about it, I tell everyone that those ads are not put out by my campaign. Second, I'm trying to run a campaign with positive ads about the issues. I'm getting out and talking about the issues. ... A representative in Congress must be responsible to the voters.

The "Wall Street bailout" remains wildly unpopular with voters. Nor does much seem to be coming of the effort in the way of relief for the average American. In fact, JPMorgan Chase even admitted that it would not loosen credit and instead plans to use its recently acquired $25 billion of taxpayer money for "acquisitions." Initially, you said that you support the bailout. Do you still?

I supported the bailout, but I said that it's not a perfect bill. Its one saving grace is that Congress only released a portion of the money. A new administration can revisit the effort and make sure that taxpayer money is used to serve the interests of taxpayers, not Wall Street bankers. If we get a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress in there, we will get this right.

In 1969, novelist Norman Mailer ran for mayor of New York City on a promise to make the city the 51st state and a platform of self-governed neighborhoods.

Bill Kauffman has a short piece on Mailer's campaign posted on First Principles.

There would be no inane happy-talk about the “family of New York” from Norman Mailer. He realized that “the good farmers and small-town workers of New York State rather detest us.” Rather indeed. “The connection of New York City to New York State is a marriage of misery, incompatibility, and abominable old quarrels.” His concern was properly with his own brawling grounds, but he did see a favorable fallout for we hicks as well, for going it alone could spark “the development of what has been hitherto a culturally undernourished hinterland, a typically colorless national tract.”

Yes, Niagara Falls, Cooperstown, Lake Placid, Susan B. Anthony, Grover Cleveland, Washington Irving, John Brown’s North Elba—we are cultural and scenic starvelings for sure.

What does WNY have in common with NYC?

Bobby G. Mullen, 32, of Bergen, was picked up on a warrant for a felony charge of third-degree grand larceny Friday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Mullen was found hiding under a pile of clothes in a bedroom closet. He is accused of stealing approximately $4,200 and two cartons of cigarettes from the Wilson Farms store in Oakfield on August 1. Mullen was an employee at the time, though the theft is believed to have occurred following his shift that morning. He was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Aaron M. Shaffer, 23, of Byron, was charged with driving while intoxicated early Sunday morning on Route 5 in Stafford, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said.

Matthew P. Stearns, 26, of Albion, was charged with felony driving while intoxicated Thursday night, city police said. Stearns was stopped by a police Stop-DWI patrol for a lighting defect on Ellicott Street. He was also ticketed with violation of a conditional license, refusal to take breath test and insufficient lights.

John J. Smalley, 46, of Oakfield, was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree unauthorized use of a motor vehicle Sunday night, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Smalley is accused of taking his girlfriend's vehicle without her permission. When the girlfriend tried to take back her vehicle in the parking lot of the Oakfield Hotel, Smalley allegedly pressed the accelerator from the passenger side of the vehicle while she was driving, causing it to strike a utility pole.

Rita K. Cintron, 18, of New Jersey, was charged with second-degree criminal trespass Sunday night for allegedly getting into an altercation in Maple Hall at Genesee Community College after she had been previously banned from the College Village, sheriff's deputies said.

Damien R. Graham, 36, no permanent address, was charged with second-degree burglary and petit larceny Saturday, city police said. Graham is accused of breaking into the apartment of an acquaintance on Swan Street in Batavia and stealing the resident's dog.

As the holiday season fast approaches, the Salvation Army readies its legion of bell ringers for the ubiquitous Red Kettle Campaign. Volunteers are needed, and anyone in the community can sign up.

From the press release:

“We call upon all businesses, families, individuals, clubs, churches, unions and associations – including sororities, fraternities, schools, business and civic organizations – to consider scheduling some time to ring the bells,” said Major Leonard Boynton, officer-in-charge of The Salvation Army in Batavia.

“A successful campaign is especially critical this year,” said Boynton. “With the economic downturn, this winter is going to be very difficult for many struggling families. We are already experiencing increases in requests for assistance and we anticipate that the demand will continue."

“The appeal of the kettle campaign is that it is very personal. When we see someone at a kettle, we know this is our neighbor, someone who is willing to sacrifice a few hours for those less fortunate or those having a temporary crisis.”

Money raised during The Red Kettle Campaign is used throughout the year to provide services to families, individuals, children and senior citizens. Programs include: emergency family assistance, older adult luncheons & activities, and after school youth programs.

Any person or organization wishing to help may call the local Salvation Army at 343-6284 or The Red Kettle Center, anytime at 1-877-764-7259. Information and volunteer forms are also available on-line at www.redkettles.org.

The Red Kettle Campaign began in 1891 when a Salvation Army captain in San Francisco resolved to provide a free Christmas dinner to the area's poor. Kettles now are used around the world, including Korea, Japan, Chile and Europe. Everywhere, public contributions to the kettles enable The Salvation Army to bring the spirit of Christmas to people who would otherwise be forgotten - the aged and lonely, the ill, poor and disadvantaged, and inmates of jails and other institutions.