It's that time of year, folks. Time to switch on the heat in the car for the morning commute. Time to dust off the coats and scarves. As chilly as it may have been in Genesee and Monroe counties this morning, it was much more so down in Wyoming, Cattaraugus and Allegany. Those three counties were under a freeze warning issued by the National Weather Service out of Buffalo this morning, according to WBTA's Wayne Fuller. That could be dire news for some vegetable growers. We'll have to wait and see.

In contrast to the cautious words of calm issued by an Oxford-educated economist who stopped by Batavia earlier this week to tell folks that it just "doesn't feel like an honest-to-goodness recession," unemployment numbers were reported as ever on the rise statewide. Genesee County is up more than a percentage point over this time last year: from 3.7 percent last August to 4.7 percent this year. Orleans County climbed from 5.1 to 7.1 percent. So, when does it start to feel like a recession? Is it when Orleans County can say that one in ten of its residents doesn't have a job?

In addition to the increase in unemployment, Fuller reports that job growth is either stagnant or shrinking. ...Maybe recession just isn't the right word, then. Can anyone else think up some words to describe what this feels like? Anyone?

Also (reported again on WBTA), the state looks to fare far worse than was initially suspected following the recent bankruptcies and bailouts on Wall Street. Gov. David Paterson envisaged a worst-case scenario of 30,000 jobs lost and a loss of $1 billion in revenue for the state. State officials now expect to lose 40,000 jobs and $3 billion in revenue over the next two years.

Oh. Almost forgot to mention... the price for a bus or train ride on the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is going up a quarter.

Has any else noticed the smell in the air when entering the city from 63 south? Smells like rotten pumpkins? Today it can be noticed downtown, what is it?

As an Oakfield Youth Group leader, I invite anyone that is interested in joining us for a morning of prayer on September 24th at 7:00 am at the flagpole at OACS.  We have a time of quiet prayer for our school, our teachers, administrators and our kids in a circle around our flagpole at the high school.  You dont have to be a Oakfield person to come and encourage our kids.  It is very powerful to see teenagers in prayer together for all their friends to see.  If you can't come to OACS, I encourage you to check at your local school and see if they are participating in the morning activity. 

It is awesome to think that kids all over the nation gather at that time on that day to stand together in their faith.

I took a drive out to Elba and Oakfield today.  In Elba, I couldn't resist stopping to take a picture of this building, which is now the wallpaper on my computer.

Anybody know the history of this place?

When Hilly found out I was driving out to Oakfield, he told me I had the stop at Santino's Pizza. "The pizza is amazing," he said.  I did, and it is.

In Oakfield, I stopped by the library and read the flyers in the window of the pharmacy.

Two events I learned about:

• October 18 and 25: Ghost walk at Batavia cemetery on Harvester, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
• The Genesee Chorale presents a recital series, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Batavia City Centre.

Reminder, if you're with a community organization and need to publicize an event or other group news, you can post the information you need to get out to Genesee County on The Batavian.  It's free. Just create an account, login and post.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer when will it ever end? I mean it is getting harder and harder to make ends meet ya try and work a full time job like I have for the past 15 years and it adds up to nothing but the refrigerate isn't as full as it used to be. Buying food is a joke even going to the dollar stores don't seem to be a bargain anymore and I have tried to find a second joke but never get any calls maybe thats a good thing because I would never have time to spend with the wife and kids if I did and paying the bills NOW there is a sad story in it self.

Seems like the American dream for people that live from check to check like me is GONE.

Now the land lord gets on my case for being later and later on the rent, Being a father of 3 with a wife is just pain getting hard to live. When will it ever get better like politicians keep saying :(

Thanks for your time and if I misspelled anything please forgive

Tom

Here it is, my first video!

I went out to Batavia Country Club Wednesday morning to talk to some folks about playing after the warm weather goes away.

Economist William G. Cheney stopped in Batavia yesterday to tell folks to calm down about the incessant, emphatic, sky-is-falling bad news about the national economy, according to the Daily News. Reporter Scott DeSmit does a great job with this article, drawing out some of the seeming contradictions between the advice (everything is just fine) and the market performance that is signalling real and serious decline. Here's the lede:

One of the nation's leading economists was in Batavia ... attempting to allay fears about financial markets just as Wall Street took another beating, dropping more than 4 percent and sending world markets into further turmoil.

Hmm. How about this:

"I still haven't given up," Cheney [said]. "It still doesn't feel like an honest-to-goodness recession. Outside of the housing market, the economy is generating growth."

Still, he said, the financial events of the last month are like nothing he's ever seen.

Come again? Does anyone sense a mixed message here? DeSmit qualifies Cheney as the chief economist for John Hancock Financial Services in Boston—for more than 20 years—and an Oxford-educated economist.

Check out the article by DeSmit. It's a good read.

In other news... Lorie Longhany was elected as the new chairperson of the Genesee County Democratic Committee by a vote of 31-7, according to the Daily News. Longhany, of Le Roy, was previously the the vice-chair of the group. The term is two years. She is an art teacher.

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

State police are looking for any information related to a string of burglaries in and around the Niagara County town of Gasport. Items reported stolen include: computer equipment, fishing equipment, golfing equipment, New York State inspection stickers, automotive diagnostic equipment, a 1979 Harley Davidson motorcycle, a Mongoose bicycle, jewelry and money.

From the press release:

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Department recovered two bicycles from an attempted burglary at the Gasport Marina on Telegraph Road. A younger looking white male was scene running from the scene.

Anyone with information concerning these thefts is asked to contact Inv. Thomas Gibbons at the State Police in Lockport at (716) 434-5588.

Maybe you were wondering what the video crew was up to at the corner of East Main and Bank streets this morning?

There were some suits, a cameraman and a pretty young woman standing on the corner in front of the cultural center with the banks in the background. Well, they were a crew from Shepard, Maxwell & Hale, a local insurance agency that took to Main Street to shoot their next commercial for cable television.

I am real happy to announce and invite all in the community to another first for the Batavia Players.  We are having our One Act Play Festival this Friday and Saturday at John Kennedy School on Vine Street.  Start time is 7:30PM.  Tickets are $10 for General Admission and $8 for Seniors and Students.

Three One Act Plays and a Monolouge are being performed. 

They Are:

MRS SORKIN Starring Peggy Marone

THE WORKER Starring Malloryann Burk, Jesse Conklin & Jake Bortle

A TRIP TO MIAMI Starring Alice and Paul Judkins

THE DUMB WAITER Starring Kevin Partridge and Robert Rudman

These are some of our area's finest actors and it is well worth the ticket price.  All these plays were done "workshop" style with actors and directors working on everything from props to sets to design as well as lines etc. 

PLEASE COME AND JOIN US....TICKETS AT ROXY's MUSIC or at the DOOR

A week ago today, I took a walk down Main Street to get a picture of the gargantuan American flag slung across a downtown facade in honor of the victims of 9/11. On that walk, I came across the phrase: "Obama said I could be his princess (aka hall monitor) ♡Britt" scrawled in bright-colored chalk across the sidewalk. A little further on were more such curious phrases in pink, purple and yellow chalk.

Had anyone else seen these odd scribblings? Does anyone know what they mean? Is it art or politics or neither? What are we to make of the juxtaposition of the phrase: "Vote Obama he's going to Barak-n-Roll" with: "Hey there Delilah what's it like in New York City....."? There is a will at work here. What is it's intent?

Buyers should be wary of online ticket seller: TicketsMyWay.com, according to the Better Business Bureau of Buffalo. WBTA's Wayne Fuller reports that the bureau has received hundreds of complaints about the site that sells tickets to sports, music and theater venues online. Complaints include: not ever receiving the tickets, getting them too late or getting invalid tickets.

In other news, Mike Ranzenhofer was campaiging yesterday in Genesee County with Sen. Mary Lou Rath, Assemblyman Stephen Hawley and county Legislature Chair Pat Hancock. Ranzenhofer is running to replace Rath in the 61st Senate District. He will take on Democrat Joe Mesi in the general election. Fuller has this to say about Ranzenhofer's platform:

He says he has a three-part plan for tax reform. One part is the doubling of the current STAR exemption over a four year period. The second part is to cap property tax increases to 4 four percent of the inflation rate which ever is lower. Ranzenhofer said the third plank is reform of the Wicks and Taylor laws, backed by organized labor, that he says increases the cost of a public works project by 20 to 30 percent.

Bill Kauffman spoke Sept. 9 at the Holland Land Office Museum dinner and Patrick Weissend recorded it as part of HOLM's ongoing podcast series.

You can listen to it here.

Bill's new book is Forgotten Founder, Drunken Prophet: The Life of Luther Martin.

Luther was an anti-Federalists, a misnomer used to describe a group of people who opposed ratification of the Constitution because it would, they believed (and accurately predicted) that it would lead to a concentration of power in the national government at the expense of communities and states.  The opposition of the anti-Federalist did help lead to the drafting of the Bill of Rights.

In the podcast, Bill covers Luther Martin's biography and his opposition to the drafting and ratification of the Constitution.

 Elba/Byron-Bergen (1-1) at Attica (1-1)

7 p.m. Friday

The Blue Devils lost a lead to Notre Dame last week and are probably going to be looking for a chance to make a statement.

Attica's Andy Ruddock has had two solid rushing weeks and will probably be the focal point of this contest.

If the Lancers are able to hold him in check, Brandon Rollins has demonstrated an ability to both run and throw the football. He had a couple of long scrambles against the Fighting Irish last week.

Elba/Byron-Bergen is a team on the rise, but will struggle in this road contest.

The rushing game is E/BB's best shot to win the game as Zach Green and Brandon Spurling have to get going early. Green rushed for 101 yards in the Lancers' 24-16 victory over Holley last week, with Spurling rushing for nearly 200 yards in a loss to Oakfield-Alabama in the opening week, then 60 more yards in Week 2.

Alexander (0-2) at Oakfield-Alabama (2-0)

7 p.m. Friday

The Hornets feel like they can beat every team in the league by 80 points - and why not.

The running game has been nearly perfect - minus a couple of turnovers last week - and is proving to be unstoppable. Tim Smith has put up absolutely sick numbers as a wingback and special teams player, and Brad Riner has quieted criticism that he wasn't big enough to be a fullback.

O-A was cruising past Elba/Byron-Bergen before taking the starters out in the second half, allowing the Lancers to start making a comeback with their first team players.

Barker had no such luck as O-A pounded them 49-0.

Alexander hasn't had much to be excited about on the field thus far, but with new coach Dave Radley, a new staff and many new starters, it's going to take time.

A bright spot has been the play of Ryan Piechocki, who has ran the ball well, including a 40-yard TD run in a loss against Pembroke last week.

Le Roy (2-0) at Wellsville (1-1 )

7:30 p.m. Friday

Travis Fenstermaker to Mike Humphrey for a touchdown - Le Roy fans are getting used to hearing that  as the two started getting hot last postseason and have continued into this year, hooking up on three TD passes so far.

Fenstermaker is very possibly the best small-school quarterback in all of Section 5.

He has the ability to take over a game with his feet, but also throws a pretty ball. It would be hard to argue against him being the best player in Livingston Conferece Division II after the first two weeks.

The Oatkan Knights have also had superior running by Andrew Alexander and when he's not in the game, Tyrone Wyckoff has shown that his ability is just as good. He would be a great featured back on almost any Section 5 team.

Wellsville typically is one of the weaker teams in Livingston, but started off the season with a 32-7 win over Bolivar-Richburg in the opening week. Then they got destroyed by Cal-Mum.

But a 1-1 start for the squad is pretty good, so Le Roy will be careful not to make any early mistakes that could start the ball rolling towards an upset.

Waterloo (0-2) at Batavia (0-2)

7 p.m. Friday

It really sucks to have your heartbroken. I'm sure that many people reading this can sympathize with that.

The players on the Batavia football team had their hearts ripped out by Palmyra-Macedon last week worse than anybody could imagine.

Pal-Mac came back to score with seven seconds left in regulation before scoring and hitting the extra point in overtime. Then Batavia scored, and missed the extra point. It really doesn't get much harder to take than that.

But when you are 0-2 - with both games at home - there is no excuses, especially when 0-2 Waterloo comes to town.

If the Blue Devils lose Friday night, you can basically forget about making the sectional tournament. 

Coach Dan Geiger and his players are well aware of this, so expect a huge effort.

Rob Williams didn't touch the ball much in the opening week, but after switching his number from No. 1 to No. 30 last week, he blew up like not many players I've ever seen.

He had 17 rushes for 154 yards and four touchdowns, recovered two fumbles, had an interception and had a key stop on a two-point conversion.

It is an abomination that he didn't earn either Offensive or Defensive Player of the Week for Class B.

Anthony D'Aurizo has been one of those backs that you can rely on to just pound the ball up the gut and get the tough yards and when defenses focus on him too much, watch out for Williams.

Quarterback Joe Canzoneri did get banged up a bit last week, but should be back for this week and I wouldn't be shocked to see him put up some passes.

Waterloo has been nowhere near as competitive as Batavia, so if this game isn't a blowout, it is not good for the Blue Devils.

If it is a loss, it is catastrophic.

Pembroke (2-0) at Holley (0-2)

1:30 p.m., Saturday

The Dragons have plenty of star power.

That program typically has a lot of players that can get the job done on both sides of the ball, but I'd imagine David Kleckler, Andrew Wright, Mike Dibble and Ken Babcock are a lot of fun.

I actually hope to make it out to this game to see these guys play.

I'm going to make the very early prediction that Wright and Babcock will be the best 1-2 combination during the basketball season, and I'm saying that those two are also big member of the football squad.

Wright's numbers were beyond stupid-crazy last week.

Who the heck gains 185 yards and scores four touchdowns on just eight carries? Wright that's who. He did it in a 56-13 win over Alexander last week.

Babcock hasn't put up any huge numbers yet, but he will. He is fighting O-A's Noah Seward as the top tight end in the league and he plays in an offense that isn't afraid to throw the ball.

Holley didn't have a varsity football team last year and it's going to take some time.

But they put up a valiant effort against a fast Elba/Byron-Bergen squad last week and only lost 24-16.

I haven't seen the Hawks, but I hear they run a lot of single wing, so it will be a lot of fun to see what they do with it, especially against a team that can contend for the Class C title.

Guy Hills is the name, if you are looking for a star on Holley's roster.

Notre Dame (1-1) at Barker (1-1)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

Barker has the reputation of playing everybody tough. They beat Holley in Week 1, but got spanked by Oakfield-Alabama in Week 2.

They are hosting a Fighting Irish squad that is pumped up after beating Attica last week and will give a great effort.

But Notre Dame should be the easy favorite.

Coach Rick Mancuso has done a great job of mixing the pass and the run as Nick Bochicchio was the star in a Week 1 loss against Pembroke, connecting on 27-of-34 pass attempts, while allowing running back Mike Pratt to go off for 115 yards and three touchdowns last week.

You can't predict what to expect from this squad week-to-week on the offensive side of the ball.

Barker is making a lot of strides under coach Bill Bruning, but is fighting numbers like a lot of smaller schools are.

You can basically throw the Week 2 loss against O-A right in the garbage, but you will get a better idea of what potential this team has when you look at the 25-14 Week 1 win over Holley.

Greg Brown had a special performance, scoring twice and rushing for 136 yards. Big man Ray Paul is also a factor in every game.

Bed, Bath & Beyond opened for business Tuesday at the Towne Center off Veterans Memorial Drive in the town of Batavia, according to the Daily News. Target already opened in July and a Lowe's home improvement store is currently getting ready to "co-anchor" the shopping complex along with the large-scale retailer. Michael's Crafts expects to open Sunday, and Petco hopes to hold its grand opening on September 26. An AT&T store is likely to occupy another of the buildings on site. Roger Muehlig reports that the developer was hoping to get a restaurant to settle into one of the 8,500-square-foot buildings at the site, "but no occupant has been announced."

A couple of stories in today's paper were already posted to this site. News of Dave Wellenzohn's departure from the helm of Muckdogs management was featured on The Batavian yesterday afternoon. Sophie's Run: a run from Ontario, Canada to New York City by Nicole Chuchmach and her team of runners in an effort to raise awareness for colorectal cancer was featured on The Batavian Monday.

Genesee County's Chamber of Commerece is gearing up for the 19th annual Decision Makers Forum and Tour, which will be held at Batavia Downs Tuesday. Tom Rivers reports:

The Chamber each year uses the forum to focus on a topic critical to agriculture. The forum in recent years has explored renewable energy, groundwater and other environmental issues, new technologies on the farm, wind energy and immigration policies.

This Tuesday, the Chamber will discuss careers in agriculture.

Anyone can attend the forum but they must register. Call (585) 343-7440 ext.27 or send an e-mail to the Chamber to register.

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

Railfanning is alive and well here in Batavia. Railfanning, I've since found out, is the verb (to railfan) that goes with the noun (a railfan) that describes the phenomenon of inching up to a set of railroad tracks and holding still as the train bullets past. Railfanning.org has this to say about railfans:

Along the rails of America, stretch from one coast to another, you will see people standing beside the tracks enjoying the splendor of trains. Whether it is a freight train, a passenger train or an excursion train, little parallels the adrenaline rush caused by a train barreling past at 60 mph.

Turns out, there's an especially avid railfan from Cleveland who documents his outings. He's 14 years old and he calls himself: ConrailForever, and it looks like he was in Batavia this past month getting footage of his railfanning escapades. Here's one of the videos we picked up off YouTube this morning:

Any railfans out there in Batavia?

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. 

As a social worker through the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Catholic Charities, I sit on the Orleans County Domestic Violence task force.  Our task force would like to educate the community about recent changes to the domestic violence law, including expanded options for access to orders of protection. 

Our next meeting is October 1st, in Albion and we are looking for a reporter from The Batavian to develop a story about the expanded access laws.  If anyone is interested, please contact me to discuss this further.  Thank you.

I just thought I should give a big thanks to everyone who has supported my work with the Muckdogs this season! I'm glad to hear/see that so many of you appreciated the stories and blogs and my work in Batavia while there. I am quite jealous I didn't get to be there as we took the title! My parents were at the game and were giving me the play-by-play. They said it was amazing...wish I was there!

I first have to thank Howard and Philip for getting me involved with TheBatavian and letting me borrow the computer to do video while I was in Batavia...that will be great for my resume! Shirley, Dave, Travis, Casey, Naomi, Dan, Will, fellow interns, etc: I am honored to have been part of such a great team!  Big thanks, too, to all the fans I've met and got to know this season. It was so nice to meet all of you and chat at games!

I'm very busy here at Kent State already. For our student-run TV station, TV2, I assistant produce, anchor the news on Thursdays at 6:30 and take part in our sports show SportsCorner. I also produce a news package every week for the station/class. For our online news site I write a sports blog and I work for Kent State Athletic Communications, which includes working all the football, basketball, baseball games, etc (this will be my 3rd year working with Kent State baseball...obviously you know where my heart lies sports-wise :-) )...I think that's everything....most of my news stories will be posted on my youtube site (http://www.youtube.com/user/AFMissMollie) and all our newscasts, shows and blogs are at KentNewsNet.com...so check it out and keep in touch! I'd love to hear from you all! You can also e-mail me at mradzin1@kent.edu.

Thanks again to everyone! I hope to hear from you soon!

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County will be recognizing its volunteers on October 7 at 5:30pm at the Kennedy Building on the county Fairgrounds. The event is open to the public.

Mike Borholder will receive the honor of "Friend of Extension" at this year's event.

The “Friend of Extension” award is an honor bestowed upon an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to aid in the success of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County. Mike has been a supporter of Extension for over 15 years and has always gone above and beyond to ensure the success of Extension’s Youth programs.

Other highlights of the evening include a tribute to Extension’s many dedicated volunteers, elections to fill positions on the board of directors, celebration and recognition of 4-H youth, and educational displays. Hors d’oeuvres and desserts will be available.

Call the Extension at (585) 343-3040 ext.101 to reserve your seat.

All things local may keep our blood pumping each morning as we scan the doppler for clouds over our heads, but the national scene never ceases to prod our ponderings as we chew the cud of the day. With that in mind, we thought to start the morning—along with our roundup of other local media leads—with a look at which stories are quickening the collective pulse of the nation.

Here's what we found inciting the editorial finger to wag this morning (feel free to talk amongst yourselves):

Bloomberg reports that "we the people" will back the loan to bail out yet another private Wall Street institution:

The U.S. government took control of American International Group Inc. in an $85 billion bailout to prevent the bankruptcy of the nation's biggest insurer and the worst financial collapse in history.

The Federal Reserve will provide a two-year loan, take 79.9 percent of the New York-based company's stock and replace its management because "a disorderly failure of AIG could add to already significant levels of financial market fragility," according to a statement by the central bank late yesterday.

This quote in the Bloomberg article is especially revealing:

"Nobody really knows what it would have meant if they would have been allowed to fail, but there was an enormous amount of systemic risk," said David Havens, a credit analyst at UBS AG in Stamford, Connecticut. "It's an enormous relief."

Nobody really knows. In an NPR account of the bailout broadcast this morning, commentators were heard to say that if AIG had been allowed to fail, the "already delicate" economy would have been hurt even further, "confidence in the economy" would have been weakened even more and it would become even more difficult for borrowers to get loans from banks. Even more, even further—there's a good reason they call these moves bailouts. The ship is sinking, folks. All hands off deck. Worst financial collapse in history, according to Bloomberg—and they're not the only one to say it.

What do you think? Does a government bailout help staunch the blood flow from an already profusely wounded economy? What does this matter to the everyday John and Jane down the block? I asked my six-year-old niece yesterday if she thought the economy was doomed or if we might get done with this backslide and start climbing back up soon, and she was doom and gloom all the way. She's a smart kid. Should we believe her?

Any financial gurus out there who can give us a better idea of what's going on and what to expect?

Here's some more coverage:

• Waiter, there's a banker in my soup, Asia Times
• Fed in AIG rescue, CNNMoney.com
• After AIG rescue, Fed may find more at its door, Reuters