Daily News

Not too much to report out of the Daily News today. We picked up off WBTA this morning, today's big story about the "hazardous material scare" at a hospital in Medina. Today's other front-page story about the increase in voter enrollment was news on WBTA yesterday.

As for the story about the hazmat scare, there's still some questions unanswered. A woman, who remains unidentified, complained of coming in contact with a white powdery substance that gave her a rash when she opened an envelope that contained her telephone bill. Investigators say that "there was no hazardous substance." Not sure if we're to assume the woman was imagining the threat or if there was a powder, but it was benign. No matter. All is well.

Other than that, it's mostly feature news today. Reporter Joanne Beck writes about career day at the Batavia Middle School. It turns out that most pre-teen children are not interested in national politics. Huh. Who knew? Tom Rivers put together a piece on Mike Borkholder who was recently named the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County's "Friend of Extension." Matt Surtel has a couple articles in there about what's up in Warsaw.

That's about it.

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

From the sound of the article in today's Daily News about last night's meeting of the Charter Review Commission, that group doesn't know a whole lot about its government. Here we have a group of city residents come together to review the document that forms the backbone of city goverment, and Joanne Beck writes that "no one" even knows the responsibilities of the city clerk/treasurer. One member, John Deleo, wanted to scrap the position of assistant city manager before he even knew what it entailed. That same member admits flat out: "We're shifting a lot of responsibilties with the stroke of a pen without understanding what everyone does."

Wait a second... What!? Why would anyone who doesn't know what government staffers do be charged with the responsibility of deciding whether or not they should contintue to do it?

At the very least, shouldn't members of such a commission be trained and educated before they begin their deliberations rather than trying to get them up to speed during the proceedings? John Roach heads up the commission, and I know he's a frequent contributor to the site, so I'm hoping he'll come on here and clarify a few of these points for us.

Another question for John: Beck writes that Councilmen Sam Barone and Bob Bialkowski have asked the commission to "consider how much responsibility council has over department heads ... and giving council the power versus city manager." Have those issues come up yet? What does the commission think?

While we're at it: What about going back to a strong mayoral form of city government?

County Manager Jay Gsell told the Daily News that "it will be an "extremely difficult" task to keep the tax rate at or below" its current level. That's a fine assertion, but it makes for a whole lot of confusion sandwiched by statements to the contrary. Gsell also says: "I wouldn't bring anything to" the legislators that would exceed the current tax rate. For their part, the legislators say that they hope to "decrease taxes."

So which is it?

Reporter Paul Mrozek writes in the article summary line: "Gsell's goal: Cut the tax rate." That's a fine goal, but if Gsell himself doesn't believe it's possible, what's the point of calling it a goal?

A meeting of the town of Batavia Planning Board scheduled for tonight has been cancelled. The board had only one item on its agenda—the "draft generic environmental impact statement" for the agri-business park—and it was not ready. It should be ready for review for the next meeting on October 21.

Another decision was postponed, this time in Albion. There, the Town Board put off voting on its local wind law Monday in order to make the revisions—"very minor word changes"—recommended by the Orleans County Planning Board. The proposed law will limit "wind energy conversion systems" to not exceed 120 feet. They will take up the vote at the next session on October 20.

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

The Daily News leads off today's edition with coverage -- and a family photo -- of the GOP open house Saturday. It's typical, work-in-every body's-name, newspaper coverage. No real news.  The Batavian covered the event Saturday and used it as an opportunity to get Chris Lee on the record regarding his position on the Wall Street bailout.

Monday's paper also features an interview with Beth Ryan, president of Genesee County Right to Life. Ryan says, "I want to end abortion. I want people to understand that abortion shouldn't just be illegal. It should be unthinkable."

Paul Mrozek writes about invasive plant, with honeysuckle being noted as a particular problem. He features Peter Smallidge, who demonstrated using a propane torch to burn the plants at Genesee County Park. Burning the plant at the base doesn't immediately kill it, but weakens it so it will die. Honeysuckles, which are non-native, can crowd out other shrubs and birds that nest in them have fewer successful hatches.

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More than 120 young men from Pavilion went off to war in the 1940s, and a proud town honored those soldiers with a plaque that hung in the high school for decades -- until it fell in such a state of disrepair that it was put in storage.

School board member Sarah Moag didn't forget about the Roll of Honor plaque, however, and one day she called on Stewart Whitney, a local woodworking hobbyist, to see if he could restore it.

He said he would give it a try.

Please be sure to pick up a copy of today's Daily News and see a picture of the stunningly restored Roll of Honor.

Writer Roger Muelig unravels the gripping narrative of the restoration project.

Also on the front page, Joanne Beck captures the magic of the moment -- when the sun came out just long enough yesterday -- for the dedication of a new nature trail at Genesee Community College. It's really a restoration of a trail that "seemed forgotten" after the 1970s/80s. There are 21 markers identifying plants along the trail.

We already linked in Regional Headlines to another front page story -- that Buffalo stations Channel 4 and 9 have been pulled from the cable lineup by Time Warner due to a contract dispute.

The County has named a new IT director -- Steve Zimmer, who has 30 years experience in the IT field, both in the private and public sector, and will earn $72,000 per year.

On the inside of the paper, one of the more interesting pieces that caught my eye was an op-ed column by Dan Radmacher, an editorial page editor in Roanoke, Va.  Radmacher writes, "Newspapers are vital to the functioning of democracy."

This is the typical arrogance of many newspaper people.

A free press -- broadcast, print and, now, online -- is essential to democracy. Ink on paper is just a delivery format. It does not magically imbue the words and pictures with any weightier meaning. In fact, the limited format does more to constrict information dissemination than help it.

Radmacher correctly points out that online newspaper sites have helped newspapers reach readers they might otherwise miss, but it's also true that newspaper web sites have contributed some to circulation declines over the past four years. Giving away all your newspaper content online is not a long-term winning strategy. Meanwhile, even the most successful newspaper web sites have not been able to generate enough revenue to support their current news operations. Many experts fear that the gulf between the newspaper model and the online model may be too wide for the typical print publication to survive the transition. If you're interested in this topic, read this post about Steve Smith, the former editor of the newspaper in Spokane, Wash. -- one of the real thought leaders of the industry -- and why he quit his newspaper this week. If you're a newspaper person, it's not a hopeful note.

However, because independent, thoughtful journalism is important to our nation, it is vital that we find a sustainable business model in online news. And that is why The Batavian exists. We see a bright future for online journalism and are thrilled to be a part of helping define what tomorrow's journalism will look like.

Of course, there's still a lot of life in print, and print does indeed remain an important part of sustaining a community, which is why we continue to encourage you to subscribe to the Batavia Daily News.

Most of the stories on the front page of today's Daily News were already featured on The Batavian this morning. We featured a full post on the court settlement between former priest Simon Howson and the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York. We also included in our early morning roundup two stories picked up from WBTA about the awarding of a $3 million grant to United Memorial Medical Center and the demolition of a downtown block in Le Roy.

We did not yet report that a state committee has begun the search for a private operator to take over the ownership of the state School for the Blind in Batavia. Scott DeSmit reports that "two private entities ... may be qualified to operate the school: Perkins School for the Blind in Masachusetts and The Center for Discovery in Monticello." Other operators may also be interested, and state legislature approval will be required before any move toward privatatization can go forward.

In other news, two new businesses are on their way to the town of Batavia: one to the new shopping center and another on West Main Street Road. Peebles, the national clothing retailer, will host its grand opening on November 13 at its location in the Batavia Shopping Center on Veterans Memorial Drive. Other businesses expected to move into the plaza include: "Cato, a women's and girls' cothing store; GameStop, a video game retailer, and a Shoe Show shoe store." Also planning on an opening by the end of the year is a KFC/Long John Silver's, which is set to open its doors at its West Main Street Road location by Christmas.

As for non-retail construction, an apartment complex set to go in "next door to East Town Plaza" got its approval from the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Joanne Beck writes:

The state-funded project is to be 43,000 square feet of a parking lot, two entrances (one for emergency vehicles) and 40 one-bedroom apartments. The units will predominantly be for clients of DePaul, a Rochester-based not-for-profit group that specializes in assisted living programs to help people who have mental illness, are in recovery from chemical addiction and/or live with a developmental disability.

Art enthusiasts and crafters in Genesee and Orleans counties will be happy to learn that galleries and studios throughout both counties will be open to the public this weekend. Genesee gets its turn Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Orleans will have a go at the same times Sunday. Pick up your free map and brochure listing of all participating studios at GO ART! at 201 E. Main St., Batavia.

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

An open house has been scheduled at the town of of Batavia Fire Hall, according to the Daily News. Folks are welcome to come down this Sunday, between 11:00am and 3:00pm, for free hot dogs and soda, and to pick up a free smoke detector and learn a little more about fire prevention. The Fire Hall is located at 8382 Lewiston Road in Batavia. (The Batavian put up a post yesterday with the news that the Le Roy Fire Department is doing much the same. An announcement on the department's Web site even offers to install the free smoke detector.)

News of the opening of Larry's Steakhouse, featured today on the front page, was announced here on The Batavian yesterday. You can also check out that post to download a full menu for the restaurant.

Mercy Flight is asking Genesee County for an additional $5,000 next year to keep up with the steady increase in emergency transport calls coming out of the county, according to the Daily News. In the past decade, reports Paul Mrozek, calls for service have doubled while funding has seen only one increase, starting in 2006, from $10,000 to $15,000. Now, Mercy Flight is asking for $20,000 in 2009.

In other news, area food pantries are afraid that demand will soon outpace supply, leaving the cupboards empty. One pantry in Wyoming County reported a 350 percent increase in requests for food. The Salvation Army and area churches all accept donations. In particular, the Batavia pantry is in need of peanut butter, crackers, spaghetti sauce and pork and beans.

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

Folks looking for a good haunting with a touch of local history will get several chances to tour the eerie side of downtown Batavia in the month of October, according to the Daily News. City Ghost Walks kick off this Friday.

Tours out of the east end of the city start at GO ART! Cultural Center and stop at the Masonic Temple, the Cary Mansion, the Mancuso Theater (now City Church), St. Joseph's Church and Richmond Mansion. From there, folks will head to Ross Street and learn about a few haunted houses at Nos. 20, 39 and 41 Ross St., then head on to Present Tense Bookstore at 101 Washington Ave. West end tours start at the Genesee County History Department on West Main Street, where County Historian Sue Conklin will show off her copper divining rods.

Joanne Beck writes of the west end itinerary:

Visitors will tour the former Engine House building and move onto 4 Mix Place, once granted a permit to be a burial ground. The tour also includes the Oak Street Specter and the first known graveyard on the corner of Oak and West Main Streets, where seven known hangings and the man "who was hung twice" occurred.

There's just too much great history and eeriness packed into these walks. Don't know about anyone else, but I'm darned excited.

East end tours will run on October 3, 17 and 24. Two runs will head out each evening, one at 6:00pm and another at 7:30pm. West end tours will run on October 10 and 24, also twice each evening at the same times. Cost is $10 per person. Visit the cultural center's calendar of events for more info.

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

Another great front page story in the Daily News today—I think that's three in a row, let's pop the champagne cork. This time, Roger Muehlig steps up to the plate with a tale of a house divided that nonetheless stands. The story is about Pearl Street resident Mark Clark, his three kids and their divisive political views. The two girls support Sen. Barak Obama for president. Father and son support Sen. John McCain.

The family has made a lot of fun of their opposing political views, so much so that they've run a strip of yellow tape down the outside façade of the house, capped off by the sign: "This House is Divided." Muehlig has a fine piece here. Check it out.

In other news:

• Orleans County's Planning Board gave the "conditional" go-ahead to Albion for its proposed wind energy facilities law that will prohibit "large-scale wind energy conversion systems" in the town, but allow smaller installations no more than 120 feet tall.
• It turns out the man arrested yesterday on charges of arson, Kevin J. Weber, previously served four years in prison on conviction of arson.

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

It seems the Daily News ran out of all the hard-hitting and otherwise informative news that made for an overstuffed edition Wednesday—really, they put together a fine paper yesterday. Today's top headline, in triple-bold font, reads: "Pizza Huts set 'to go' in Albion, Medina". Sure, this is news, but top of the front page news? Well, on closer inspection, it seems that yes, there is more to this story than one might at first suspect.

Check out this second paragraph from reporter Virginia Kropf:

Rumors about the closing of the Albion and Medina stores have been circulating around the county for several days, but attempts to verify the fact on Wednesday were met with "No comment" or slammed receivers.

Sounds like some serious business. And Kropf doesn't let up. In what seemed like a boring story about a couple chain restaurants closing turns into a story about the worker getting screwed over by the man. It turns out the employees in Albion were never told the store would be closing, not officially—or at least, this is the impression from the article. Instead, the management simply stopped posting work schedules and told the employees to show up in Medina at 9:00am Thursday without their uniforms. They were not told why, they said to Kropf.

Check this out:

A man who answered the phone in the Lockport office said he was a supervisor, but declined to give his name. He said he knew nothing about any closings and when confronted with the sign in the Albion Pizza Hut [which read: Due to closing...], he said, "Thanks for telling me. I'll have to call and tell them to take it down."

When asked if he was saying the store would not be closing, he hung up.

Whoa. Those are some shady dealings. A quote from one of the women who works at the Albion Pizza Hut sums it up: "If they had been up front and told us, I could have had that other job," she said.

Great job giving a voice to the voiceless, Virginia. Great article.

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

Residents of Batavia's southside neighborhood assembled outside the home of Anne Marie Starowitz on Chestnut Street yesterday to talk traffic, according to the Daily News. Several city officials came out. Also on hand were engineers from FRA Engineering, the firm that is handling the construction of the Oak Street roundabout.

Reporter Joanne Beck writes:

[Residents] fear what may happen once a roundabout project gets going next spring ... at the intersection of Walnut, South Main, Pearl, Oak and Franklin streets. The plan includes a detour along Route 98, at Law Street, to alleviate some traffic congestion near the construction zone. All of that detoured traffic will then spill into the southside neighborhood, the Starowitz's said.

Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian passed out a letter that said other parts of the city have also been affected by construction projects. That sounds like a good point to make. When we're talking about downtown construction projects and traffic detours, isn't there always a neighborhood that has to bear the brunt of it?

Anne Marie Starowitz:

"My major concern is this is just politics as usual. It's done, and your voice means nothing. These (City Councilmen) are elected to represent us. I'm really concerned about the children."

Residents were told that their concerns will be taken to the city for consideration.

Speaking of construction, the Genesee County Economic Development Center is about finished with all of its projects for the season, save for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park. Work will get underway on that project this fall, weather permitting.

Speaking of traffic, a pickup truck was engulfed in flames at the intersection of Lewiston Road and Veterans Memorial Drive in the town of Batavia yesterday afternoon. Traffic through the area was redirected while fire crews put out the blaze.

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

Articles today in the Daily News on the Batavia City Council meeting, the fire Monday morning in South Byron and the sentencing of Robert Kirkup yesterday in county court were all featured on The Batavian yesterday. That being said, Joanne Beck put together a fine piece on the Council meeting from last night that includes a little more information than was in our post.

Beck takes as the theme of her article: neighborhood problems, taking her cue from several residents who spoke at the meeting. One resident spoke of the problems caused on some city streets as the result of truck traffic being diverted through residential neighborhoods during road construction. Another spoke of zoning concerns. While a third discussed the problem of absentee landlords and detrimental property conditions. Rather than make this article about these three separate issues, Beck finds the common thread: all three are asking for the same thing: a decent neighborhood.

Our question to that: What does it take to make a decent neighborhood, and when does city government know to step in and help out and when to stand back and let be? We're hoping to take a closer look at that question over the next couple weeks, so look for more on that.

In other news, the town of Batavia hired a third-year engineering student from the Rochester Institute of Technology for $10 an hour to help the town "catch up with project work that includes two water districts and the town's farmland protection plan." Joseph Neth, who lives on Wilkinson Road, will work up to 40 hours per week for 13 weeks for the town as part of "a cooperative effort with area colleges that was started by the town last year."

An "Unwanted Pill Collection" will be held on October 4, from 8:00am to noon at the Pavilion Fire Department on Route 19 for area residents to dispose of their old prescription drugs, according to the Daily News. Anyone from Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties can come by to make use of the service. You don't even have to get out of your car. Drive up, drop off the pills, and continue on your way.

Health officials hope that by offering folks the opportunity to safely dispose of old medications—they will be burned in an incinerator—we can keep the drugs from tainting the water supply or getting into the hands of people who should not be taking them.

In other news, the county's Building and Grounds department will now be known as Facilities Management.

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

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.

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.

Ag industry revenue in Genesee County and statewide surged, according to the Daily News. Tom Rivers reports that farms in the state brought in $4.45 billion in 2007 as compared with $3.49 billion in 2006. Genesee County alone climbed up 27 percent, from $140.2 million to $178.5 million.

Typically, the total agricultural receipts vary 1 or 2 percent each year, said Steve Ropel, director of the National Agricultural Statistics Service in New York.

"This is one of the sharpest increases I've ever seen," he said Monday by phone from Albany. He (has) worked 36 years studying farm statistics.

Increased demand for dairy (overseas) and corn (for ethanol) fueled the 28 percent increase for the state. That means you can thank the increase in the price for a gallon of milk and, in a way, the increase in the price of a gallon of gas—indirectly for encouraging the use of biofuels—for driving the surge in ag revenue.

See the article in the Daily News for the full details and figures, including a chart listing the comparable revenue between 2006 and 2007 for nine upstate counties.

Surplus school revenues for the 2007-08 school year mean a reduction in the district's tax levy of $45,000, and that means a decrease of $1.12 per $1,000 in assessed value for taxpayers.

A public hearing is scheduled for 7:00pm tonight at the Batavia Town Hall, 3833 W. Main Street Road, for anyone interested in learning more about the environmental impacts of the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park being planned for E. Main Street Road.

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

An old brick building on Main Street will get a much needed facelift and interior restoration, according to the Daily News. Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council's Cultural Center in Batavia has long been in need of renovation, and now the group has all the funds they need to finish the project.

Dick and Kathy Seymour were honored at a dinner over the weekend as having made the donation that tipped the scales. The Cultural Center will be renamed in their honor, becoming Seymour Place once the work is finished.

The Cultural Center is undergoing exterior work right now.

The Daily News today includes coverage of the Muckdogs championship victory Sunday night and the wind storm that swept through the region in the early morning hours. Both stories were included on The Batavian this morning.

The Genesee ARC Friends & Family 5K will be relocated  to Elba this Saturday and again in 2009 due to the road construction along Wlanut Street in Batavia. Participants can check in at 8:30am Saturday and get ready to race at 10:00am.

From the article (no author listed):

This event raises money for disability services and helps fund the Genesee ARC Mary Anne Graney Memorial Scholarship. Graney was a dedicated parent, a long-time supporter of Genesee ARC, and a strong advocate for persons with developmental disabilities.

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

A Wal-Mart store in the works for the village of Le Roy may be the company's first ever to be shrunken down from its original size, according to the Daily News. Of course, that doesn't mean it still won't be a "Supercenter"—retail's answer to the question: What if people could buy socks, tomato sauce, a new bike and a gardenia all at the same store? So yes, the store planned for West Main Street in Le Roy will still be a Supercenter, only getting reduced from 163,700 square feet to 138,000.

Claims made in the article that this will be a "more environmentally-friendly" Wal-Mart seem somewhat dubious. Check out this quote from Le Roy's Code Enforcement Officer Gene Sinclair:

"It's still going to be a Supercenter, just smaller," he said. "The parking lot is more environmentally friendly, with four islands and a natural filtration system of trees and shrubs."

"We're told it's a new design for their stores and the first in the United States like this."

It's wonderful that everybody has caught the going green bug—especially the marketing departments of massive corporations—but I think we have to draw the line at "environmentally-friendly parking lot." Hasn't anyone ever listened to Joni Mitchell? What did they pave to put up a parking lot? Yep, that's right: paradise.

Anyway, good for Le Roy. Now they've got a Wal-Mart to go with the new Walgreens. Speaking of the Walgreens... construction of that is on hold now owing to a "blizzard of asbestos" encountered during the demolition of the old Masonic temple and its neighbors. (Hmm. Is there any connection between this blizzard of asbestos and the blizzard of words Charlie Gibson attributed to Sarah Palin last night?)

In other news, Tom Rivers paid a visit to the Rochester Public Market where a lot of Genesee County farms head every weekend to ply their wares before the big city crowds. It's another great article from a talented writer about a fun topic. So read it.

Attica resident Roddy Harris wrote a postapocalyptic novel about a brother and sister who try to rebuild their lives after 99 percent of the world is killed by terrorists who release "vast amoiunts of chemical and biological agents into the atmosphere." The article's headline is misleading: Attican pens 9/11 book. That's just not true. While the article begins by saying that Harris "turned his thoughts and feelings about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, into a novel," the novel is not about 9/11 at all. The book is titled: After Terrorism: A Survival Story. It's available from Publish America.

Former Chairman of the United States Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors Paul S. Speranza told an audience at Genesee Community College yesterday that if the state wants to fix its economy, communities need to join together.

Speranza said New Yorkers need to move beyond parochialism and regional feuding. Speaking with one voice and forming coalitions among groups with divergent views is the way to get the state's economy back on track and to improve its quality of life, he said.

Paul Mrozek does an excellent job covering the speech, so be sure to check out the article if you're interested.

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

Le Roy has two weeks to act on the promise of a state grant for $350,000 to use in the restoration of Oatka Creek, according to the Daily News. One member of the Oatka Creek Ad Hoc Committee (Jack Bradbury) told the Village Board last night:

"Nothing has been done for over two years. New York State Parks has not heard from us in two years and the crisis now is that they said they were considering immediate cancellation of the grant."

Whoa! Two years? That sounds like a bit of a blunder, and that the homeowners in the village are angry with the board for not getting moving on the project only renforces that status. It turns out that the village last worked on the creek in 2004, but there is still much work to be done to "stablize" it.

This grant that may now get nixed was approved in 2006 as a match grant, which means the village would have to put up $350,000 of its own funds. Engineering proposals were approved at the meeting last night, a move "that may stave off the state's threat to cancel the grant."

Congratulations to Scott DeSmit for getting this story together and packaging it well, getting the facts out concisely and without ambiguity.

Genesee County's Economic Development Corporation recently closed on a pair of real estate deals: 200 acres of land in the town of Batavia ($800,000) planned for the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park; and another 59 acres of farmland in the town of Alabama ($212,000) to be incorporated into the 1,200-acre Western New York Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park.

An increase in recording fees for the Genesee County Clerk's Office was approved by the Legislature last night. Also passed at that meeting was the $1.8 million budget for the county's workers compensation program, which marks an 8 percent increase in that budget over last year.

Batavia Downs will be hosting the top dogs of harness racing every Wednesday for the next couple months in an effort to raise money for the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. Racers such as Howard "Pacing" Parker, who was strapped up and circled the track in eight races yesterday, will donate their driving commissions to the coalition. Silent auctions each week for racing memorabilia such as bobbleheads of the drivers will also help benefit the cause.

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

Two posts on the town of Batavia Assessment Board of Review and a post on the Batavia Concert Band Board of Directors are open, and willing participants are encouraged to apply, according to the Daily News. Folks interested in the assessment positions should get their application to the Batavia Town Hall. Call (585) 343-1729 for more information. For those looking to join up with the Batavia Concert Band, call Jason Smith at (585) 590-0743.

Election coverage in the Daily News was featured on The Batavian last night. Scroll down to view the posts.

In other news...

• Helicopter flyovers have been spotting marijuana patches in Orleans County. "More than 300 marijuana plants have been yanked from plots in several towns." Genesee County's Drug Task Force went up a couple weeks ago and has so far spotted and pulled up 327 plants from Elba, Byron and Bergen.
• Virginia Kropf's "Around the Towns" column is on page A-5 today. In it, she relates the story of Bathshua Brown, great-great-great-great grandmother to Bob Brown of Brown's Berry Patch. Interesting read.
• Genesee County Highway Department will add a pair of "box culverts" at the east end of DeWitt Pond in the city. These culverts will act as pedestrian bridges over especially swampy patches of the pond to allow hikers more access to the trails there.

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