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• Oakfield wished itself a happy 150th birthday and kicked off a summer-long celebration last night with the burial of a time capsule. (We would love to hear from folks about some of the items they tossed into the capsule — maybe a Batavian bumper sticker.) Former Oakfield Mayor Ray Cianfrini talks about the occasion.
• Thirty-three kids will attend this year's state Sheriff's Association Summer Camp in Penn Yan to help "create a positive interaction" between the kids and the sheriff's deputies.
• A Livingston County man faces up to 20 years in prison following a guilty plea to child pornongraphy charges. Forshee had been previously convicted of third-degree rape.

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• The Genesee County Legislature unanimously approved a $4 million renovation of athletic facilities at Genesee Community College that will include the addition of softball and soccer fields with artificial turf and lighting. State funds will cover half the cost.

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• The Genesee County Legislature meets tonight at 7:00pm at the Old County Courthouse to discuss a $4 million capital project for Genesee Community College that would include renovations to the gym and an expansion of the athletic fields. The state would pay half.
• Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano made official his intent to start a Political Action Committee and back certain candidates for state office with a bankroll of $5 million. For a more detailed story, check out the Democrat & Chronicle article.

WBTA reported this morning:

• Billionaire businessman Tom Golisano of Rochester may form a PAC, enabling him to spend vast amounts of money in support of favored political candidates.
• U.S. Parachute Association is also looking into the death during the holiday weekend of Joseph Schickler.  The FAA has already launched an official investigation.
• A tractor trailer hauling brand new Dodge Chargers caught fire along Route 63 near Geneseo.

Tune into WBTA 1490-AM for these and other news updates throughout the day. 

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• Darien Lake State Beach Park remains closed. Bacteria levels are still too high. Tests will be performed daily to check to see if the levels have gone down and if the beach can open before the holiday weekend.
• Sen. Hillary Clinton will be in Ontario and Wayne counties today touring farms damaged by the hail storms last week.

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• Batavia's City School Board will hold its reorganization meeting today at 4:15pm at the district office on Washington Avenue.

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• Darien Lake State Beach Park will remain closed pending further water tests that will continue today. The park was closed this past weekend because of high bacteria levels.

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• Richmond Memorial Library will be closed today and tomorrow as the facility undergoes electrical upgrades. The doors will be back open Monday.

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• The county Legislature approved the $31 million budget for Genesee Community College last night. Also approved at the meeting was the purchase of 17 bulletproof vests for the Sheriff's Office at a cost of $24,038.
• The Muckdogs lost 3-1 to the Jamestown Jammers to drop back below .500 for the year. They'll be in Mahoning Valley tonight. Batavia went 2-1 in their last series against the Scrappers earlier this week.

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• A public hearing on Genesee Community College's $31 million budget will be held tonight at the county Legislature meeting at 7:00pm at the Old County Courthouse. Click here for a download of the complete meeting agenda.
• Batavia City School Superintendent Richard Stutzman told Dan Fischer that the school's annual "report card of test scores" is out for grades three through eight, and they are at least as good as last year's scores, some even better.
• The state Legislature took off for the season without resolving a dispute between union labor and Industrial Development Agencies that would continue the low-interest funding for non-profit institutions in the state — including United Memorial Medical Center. Check out the article by the Buffalo News for a look back on the season.

Following the arrest of a Bergen man over the weekend for possessing several cartons of untaxed cigarettes purchased at an American Indian reservation, WBTA sent out their crack team of investigators to find out just where the legal line is drawn for buying smokes from a reservation.

It turns out, the law is not very tolerant on this issue. Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha told Dan Fischer that if you've got any more than two cartons of untaxed cigarettes, "you put yourself at risk." I especially enjoy the phrasing, though I can't say if it's all Dan Fischer or Gary Maha. Of course, you put yourself at risk if you've got a lot of smokes. But I would have assumed the risk was to your lung health, not the risk to get booked with misdemeanor tax evasion!

Sheriff's deputies reported that the "bust" over the weekend was made when a fellow was already pulled over for a traffic stop and was found in possession of 2,200 cigarettes. If my math is correct, I believe that's 11 cartons.

Maha did stress, however, that deputies are not actively out looking to nail people for buyig cigarettes from a reservation. But if you get pulled over for something else and you happen to have 11 cartons in your passenger seat, you may just be held responsible.

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• Some 1,200 Genesee County residents did not receive an economic stimulus check, though they may have been entitled to one. In order to receive the checks, those eligible had to file a federal tax return, and many retirees and disabled veterans never filed because they didn't have to. Well, a sympathetic IRS — seriously — is reaching out to help them get their check, which could be between $300 and $600 per individual. They have until October 15 to file the 1040A tax form and get the check. Visit the IRS Web site for more information.

You could have said the night started ominous. Sure, the fans were there, diehard and decked in team merch, blankets tucked under their arms. They entered Dwyer Stadium under an arc of balloons — and Muckdog management even saw fit to roll out the red carpet, or at least a pair of shaggy red-colored rugs.

Then came the rain.

Everyone was talking about it. You couldn't not. Not with those low-hanging clouds that looked as thick as continents rolling slowly past. When one of them finally broke at about 6:30pm, everyone who wasn't under cover got a good soaking. Concession boys scrambled to get the condiment carts under the eaves. Managers called out for more hands on deck to roll tarp over the field. Ladies held seat cushions over their heads.

But it passed. Soon it was pretty much over. Fans got down to the business of watching baseball, and the Batavia Muckdogs and the Auburn Doubledays got down to the business of playing it.

Well, they lost. Batavia went down 1-6 against Auburn. Oh well. Now they'll take it to Auburn for the third and final game of the series tomorrow night down two games to none.

Don't forget to tune it to WBTA for the play-by-play.

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• About 7,000 National Grid customers in Genesee County lost their power around 9:00pm last night. A failure in the Batavia substation on Franklin Street was blamed for the outage that darkened city streets and left about 5,800 residents in Batavia and some 1,000 others in Alexander, Pembroke and Elba without their electricity until some time after midnight. (Some information for this brief was obtained from the Democrat & Chronicle.)

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• A "controlled" trash fire in Oakfield turned into a blaze and burned a storage barn to the ground yesterday. Ten volunteer fire crews responded, had the fire under control in about 20 minutes and saved a nearby pair of grain silos.
• A new law enforcement program was announced yesterday that would allow female prisoners in Genesee County to be brought to Albion Correctional Facility for reception. Women senetenced to time in state prison formerly had to be taken to Westchester County for processing. Male inmates are also now allowed to be received at Auburn rather than Elmira. Both moves are expected to save the county about $10,000 per year, Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said.
• Hail storms ravaged the county and a good swath of western New York yesterday afternoon. Reports came in of nickel-sized hail out in Alabama. Dan Fischer with WBTA said the hail stones ranged in size from about as big as a penny to hefty golf ball chunks that dented cars and no doubt tore up some fresh srping gardens.

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• Genesee County legislators approved tax exemption for Cold War veterans at the meeting last night. Exemptions were previously only granted for combat veterans.
• Those same legislators clashed over how to handle the extended absence of a clerk from the treasurer's office who is out on medical leave. The treasurer's office wants a full-time replacement. Some on the Legislature suggested a temporary part-time position be created. Dan Fischer writes that "the amendment" was later "approved by a vote of 6-3," though it is not quite clear what the amendment signified. I assume it altered the request for a full-time staffer to part-time, but the language is a little unclear. Either way, it's a tricky situation, and I could understand the differing of opinions. Do you pay two people for the same job when one of those is unable to perform it? But at the same time, how can you not hire someone to do the work that is not being done?

WBTA reported this morning that Genesee Community College is asking the county for an additional $50,000 in support. Also in store for the next academic year is a tution increase of about $50 per full-time student per semester.

We asked the college why they needed the extra funds and just what would be funded and found a brief, slightly more detailed explanation of the increase on the college's Web site (published May 13):

A proposed $50,000 increase in support, from $1,836,374 to $1,886,374 from Genesee County, sponsor of the College. Genesee County support would be 6.1% of the total operating budget, the lowest percentage of support in the history of the College. Genesee County’s sponsor support during 2006-2007 was $966 per full-time-equivalent student, the lowest sponsor support ratio of any of SUNY’s 30 community colleges.

We're waiting to hear from the college about how long the increase would last. GCC's Web site implies that the increase is only included in the 2008-2009 budget.

By way of an explanation for the increase:

The budget ensures that Genesee will maintain program excellence and affordability, President Stuart Steiner told trustees. “Our commitment is to provide extraordinary education to our students, and to do so as cost-effectively as possible,” Dr. Steiner said. “For well over a quarter-century, we have maintained operating costs lower than those of our peers, yet we have developed a reputation across New York State and beyond for excellence and innovation.”

Overall, the total budget for GCC for the next year is up about 4.5 percent, from $29.5 million to $30.8 million.

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

Items include:

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

Rules here, segment schedule here.

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• Ellicott Street resident Desiree Moore, 37, was charged with menacing and disorderly conduct. Police were told that Moore had allegedly threatened to shoot his girlfriend with an air gun.

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• A single engine Cessna plane crash on a flight from Batavia crashed in the town of Sweden near Brockport around noon yesterday. Nothing is yet known of the cause of the crash. Flight instructor Davy Merritt of Caledonia and his student Benjamin Bruce were hospitalized with serioues injuries. For more information and video coverage of the crash site, see News 10-NBC.

• Twenty-seven-year-old Maria Mitchel of Batavia pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder after being arrested Friday. Mitchel was seen on video surveillance allegedly trying to suffocate her 7-month-old baby girl at  Buffalo's Women and Children's Hospital.

• Nearly 100 parishioners of St. Paul's Lutheran Church took to the community yesterday with paintbrushes, baked goods, quilts and garden tools to help clean up and show their appreciation for their neighborhoods.