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After nearly two decades of caring for unwanted equines, Mike and Chris Dodge are finding it a bit harder to carry on. Since they started their efforts, initially in Ventura, Calif., they have so far saved 400 horses.

Now in declining health and grappling with a 40-percent drop in donations, the Dodge's are still doing what they can to keep their horse rescue in Pavilion going.

Sunday, they and a group of supporters and volunteers held an open house at the rescue on Dow Road. While there were many new faces, attendance was down from previous years, Mike Dodge said.

"Donations are down because of the economy, but it's that way with every non-profit," Dodge said. "Without those donations, though, we don't have the money to do what we have to with these guys."

There are 24 horses on the ranch and it costs $125 per month -- $3,000 a month total -- just to feed them. Plus there are medical bills and other expenses associated with operating the rescue.

The pasture out back hasn't been mowed for a while because the lawn mower broke.

Volunteers help, but many of them are students at SUNY Geneseo, so when school is out, there are fewer hands to clean stables and feed and water the horses.

Dodge noted that some of his volunteers have been kids who learned to ride at commercial stables and think they might to own their own horse. What they learn in volunteering, Dodge said, is that "90 percent of the care of a horse is on the ground."

Mike and Chris started horse rescue in Ventura County 18 years ago because they thought the humane society near their home didn't do a very good job.

Mike said they would put down a horse as dangerous if it kicked up its rear legs.

"That's just a horse having fun," Dodge said.

They stayed there for eight years before moving to Pavilion so Chris could be closer to her family.

In an era when many people who thought they could afford horses, now find they can't, as many as a 100,000 horses are sent to slaughter each year -- slaughtered in Mexico or Canada, because environmental regulations make it tough to run a commercial horse slaughter anywhere in the United States.

The Dodges have two horses on their way out for adoption, which is helping to make room for one horse that can no longer be cared for by its owners.

"This little girl has been riding him every day for four years, but they couldn't find a place to board him, so we're bringing him here," Dodge said. "She's a nice little girl."

While some horses do go out for adoption, so many of the animals brought to the rescue are hard to place because they're old (one horse at the rescue is 41 years old, which is like 123 to you or me), feeble (the white horse with spots pictured below is blind, but just about the friendliest horse you'll ever meet) or too ornery for hobby owners.

"Everybody wants a horse that's easy to handle," Dodge said.

Anybody who can care for the animal, handle the $125-per-month feed bill and provide it adequate pasture and shelter, is eligible to adopt a horse.

Every horse saved is another that can be saved, and that's what keeps Chris and Mike going.

"It’s strictly for the horses," Mike said. "They can’t speak for themselves. Just like dogs and cats, they need someone to speak for them, to be their voice."

The next closest rescue in New York is in Lima, where 12 horses are boarded; otherwise, there's no other horse rescue in Western New York.

Mike said he realizes with all of the horses that have been sent to slaughter over the years, 400 rescued is "just a drop in the bucket," but it's still worthwhile.

"It sure means a lot to that one horse."

Here's a video produced by somebody in Buffalo about the rescue:

For more information, visit the rescue's website.

Billy Joe Edward Murphy, 29, of Route 20, Pavilion, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. At 9:21 p.m. Saturday, Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a domestic disturbance. During the investigation, a long gun was located inside the residence. Allegedly, because of Murphy's criminal history, he is not legally permitted to possess firearms. Murphy was issued an appearance ticket on the weapon's charge and then booked into Genesee County Jail without bail on a warrant for an unrelated matter.

Tiffany Leigh Brown, 24, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and harassment, 2nd. Brown is accused of throwing a Thermos at another person. The Thermos reportedly ricocheted off the other person then struck and broke a glass bottle sitting on a shelf.

Batavia PD issued 29 citations during a special traffic enforcement detail Thursday.

The checkpoint was set up on Oak Street near the Thruway entrance.

Among the citations issued were four to drivers of commercial vehicles.

The enforcement effort was funded by a "Selective Traffic Enforcement Program" grant issued through the governor's Traffic Safety Committee.

Earlier this summer, a traffic safety check at the same location yielded 35 citations.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office is warning local residents about a possible phone scam that is masquerading as a law enforcement call.

At lease one person in Genesee County has received a phone call threatening arrest if the person did not pay back a Payday loan.

The caller told the mark that he would be given a couple of hours to make a credit card payment or a warrant would be issued.

The caller made several calls from a 215 area code number (Pennsylvania) and at least one call had a caller ID of 9-1-1.

After the deadline passed, the mark received a phone call with a caller ID of (585) 345-3000 (the Sheriff's Office) advising him to turn himself in.

The phone call did not originate from the Sheriff's Office.

When the Sheriff's Office tried to contact the supposed company behind the collection effort, investigators were not able to verify any claim to law enforcment status.

The address given by the company for its location is a department store in Philadelphia.

A car and bus have reportedly collided in the area of 1534 Lewiston Road, Alabama.

Three people in the car are reportedly injured, but there are no reported injuries on the bus.

Alabama Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 7:24 a.m.: Oakfield's ambulance on in-hall stand by for a possible response to the scene.

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In a battle of 1-1 teams, Elba rolled over Pembroke 46-20 behind the six TDs of Zach Dubois. The Lancers jumped out to a 18-0 first-half lead, and even with the Dragons scoring twice in the third quarter, Elba added 21 points of their own to the scoreboard.

Dubois scored three times in the first half on short runs, but really broke loose in the second half, scoring on runs of 53, 48 and 57 yards. In all, Dubois carried the ball 22 times for 296 yards.

Overall, Elba had 420 yards of offense. Elba's Matt Ramsey had three catches for 73 yards. The Dragon's QB, Cody Bedard, was 17 of 34 for 175 yards and two TDs. Wyatt Chittenden for Pembroke, 18 carries, 75 yards, eight receptions for 135 yards, two TDs.

Elba's defensive stats: Andy Boyce, 15 tackles, one sack; Matt Ramsey, seven tackles, fumble recovery returned for a TD; Cody Naylor, 10 tackles, one sack; Brandon Naylor, six tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles.

Le Roy dropped to 1-2 with a loss to Avon, 34-20. Tommy McQuillen rushed for three touchdowns for Le Roy.

Batavia also dropped to 1-2 with a 20-17 loss to Livonia. T.T. Martinez racked up 171 rushing yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. Brett Scheurline was 9-for-20 for 109 yards.

Batavia visits Le Roy this Friday for a non-league game.

Alexander lost to Barker 16-7.

For our coverage at Notre Dame vs. Oakfield-Alabama, click here.

Photos by Destin Danser.

Charles Durkee provided photos from Saturday's training for the Byron and South Byron fire departments. Here's what he said about it:

On Saturday between the hours of 8 a.m. and noon, the Byron Fire Department hosted live fire training for their members and members of South Byron. The training was also held for members of the rescue squad as the firemen acted out burn injuries and frost injuries from the liquid propane. The training was very intense and and made the firemen realize that it's a lot harder to move in safely on a big ball of flames and try to shut down the system.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants Wednesday, at approximately 9 a.m to  3 p.m, in the general area of Oak Street, Pickthorn Drive, Redfield Parkway, Burke Drive, Bogue Avenue, Gateway Drive, Noonan Drive, and Richmond Avenue.

Homes and businesses nearby will be affected. These flows may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area.

As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored. The rain and or makeup date for flushing is Thursday, at approximately noon to 5 p.m.

More than 200 people attended the Batavia Kiwanis Club's auction and gala to raise funds for the Child Advocacy Center at Batavia Downs.

There were certainly a lot of laughs and some great deals were struck at the auction, which brought in more than $15,000.

The few somber minutes of the evening where just before the live auction when a video about the Child Advocacy Center turned the talkative room quiet. Watch the video below. It will give you a good idea of what the CAC is all about.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

A chimney fire is reported at 7392 Alleghany Road, Alabama.

An Alabama chief is on scene and may have discovered the fire.

Alabama fire units responding.

UPDATE 1:17 p.m.: Chief on scene believes he's got the fire knocked down. Alabama engines in route.

UPDATE 1:27 p.m.: Alabama fire back in service.

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There are possibly two people injured following an ATV accident in the area of 1780 Sumner Road, Darien.

Darien Fire and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 1:23 p.m.: Darien's ambulance is transporting one patient to Strong. The other person did not require transport to a hospital. Darien Fire back in service.

UPDATE 1:37 p.m.: Darien ambulance rerouting to UMMC.

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Coming off two disappointing seasons and starting the 2011 season 0-2, it would be easy to dismiss a game against Oakfield-Alabama as a bye week, but as any coach in the Genesee Region will tell you, there's no squad in the league that can be taken lightly.

There's no telling if the Fighting Irish took the Hornets a little less than serious coming into Friday night's league match-up, but O-A's young players certainly made a game of it.

The final score was 29-14, but the Hornets were never really out of it until the final minutes, and at the half looked like a team that could spoil Notre Dame's early season perfect record.

"They're very well coached," said Notre Dame's head Coach Rick Mancuso. "Brian (Palone) is doing a great job. That (Tommy) Manzella kid is a terrific quarterback. They're tough, there's no doubt about it. They spread you out all over, they throw the ball. I give them all the credit in the world. I thought they played very well tonight."

Palone said his team is young. They let the game get away from them when Nate Woods returned a punt 50 yards for a TD, making the score 15-14 following a two-point conversion.

"That changed the momentum," Palone said.

While Manzella showed he could still march his offense down the field -- he passed for 192 yards on the night on 27 completions -- the Hornets couldn't finish the deal in the red zone.

"Overall I fell like we were right in there," Palone said. "Our kids were fighting hard just like we ask them -- 'give 110 percent.' We’ve got a lot of sophomores out there. We’re just very young this year, so we’re going to make mistakes, but we’re just going to learn from our mistakes and improve."

The scoring started in the first quarter when Nick Taylor capped a Notre Dame drive with a 16-yard run.

But O-A's no-huddle offensive helped the Hornets get the momentum back and the defense was being pretty stingy, twice intercepting Tim McCulley.

Two O-A drives in the second quarter ended in TDs -- a three-yard run by Manzella and a two-yard pass by Manzella to Chris Nanni.

By the fourth quarter, Notre Dame's running game was nearly unstoppable. 

Taylor finished the game with 87 yards on the ground on 17 carries. Nick Conklin had 82 yards rushing on 11 carries.

ND's two fourth-quarter TDs were a five-yard run by Taylor and Woods hauling in a 25-yard pass from McCulley.

McCulley finished with 107 in the air on 16 completions.

Mancuso said his young team played two great quarters to start each of their previous games and then "sort of frittered it away" in second halfs, but Friday the team played better in the second half than the first.

"With a young group of kids like we've got, that's what you expect," Mancuso said. "I want to get us to the point where we're playing four full quarters of football."

As for O-A, which was shut out three times in 2010 on its way to a 0-7 season, following a 2-5 campaign in 2009, Coach Palone is disappointed in his team's 0-3 start, but he said he's seeing progress for the Hornets.

"I feel like this program is heading in the right direction," Palone said. "Every day and each and every game you can see that we’re improving. We’re hanging right in there with these teams now, where last year and the year before we weren’t right in there with the games. They were breaking the games wide open. This year, we're right there."

Prior to 1961, Batavia High's graduating classes held their commencement ceremony at Mancuso Theater, but in 1961, with a new high school built, school officials told the Class of ' 61 that its graduation would be at the new facility. 

There was talk of protest then, but it took the class a half century to actually pull it off.

As part of the class's 50th Reunion, class members walked from Batavia Middle School to the former Mancuso Theater, now City Church, and held a ceremonial commencement with current BHS Principal Christopher Dailey handing Jim Owen back his original diploma as a symbolic graduation. Dailey then delivered the same commencement speech delivered to the Class of 2011.

As I was leaving Le Roy yesterday, I saw this crop-duster flying over a field off Route 5.

In Le Roy for a bit yesterday afternoon, and I went down to Oatka Creek and saw an opportunity to snap this picture.