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Batavia's 11-year-old All Stars run at a championship season came to an end Monday with an 12-2 loss to Tonawanda.

Tonawanda moves on to the state championship next week in Pinebush.

Batavia made it to the District 1 regional championship game after beating Seneca Falls and Oleans.

Batavia’s Casey Radka turned a double play for the team, with Jerry Reinhart who pitched well in the loss to Tonawanda. Nick Bezinque and Evan Bender had the hits for Batavia in a well-played game by both teams. 

The 2011 11-year-old All Star roster included: Evan Bender, Alex Jones, Jerry Rinehart, Philip Koziol, Taylor Stefaniak, Nick Bezinque, AJ Marcello, Casey Radka, Griffen Moore, Michael Calderon and Cameron Ells.

The coaches were James Soggs, Dave Hall and Todd Bender

The team was coached by James Soggs, Dave Hall and Todd Bender.

Slide show of more photos below (be sure to click on the button in the lower right for full screen version).

Pictures from this event can be purchased by clicking here.

The clouds after the storm late yesterday were pretty spectacular. I was tied up on something else, so didn't have much time drive around for pictures. But as soon as I was free, I went out to one of my favorite spots along Creek Road and took this picture.

Scott Eric Hodgins, 43, of Creek Road, Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd. Hodgins is accused of punching another person in the head several times causing a concussion.

Latoya Yalonda Stanley, 23, of State Street, is charged with petit larceny. Stanley is accused of shoplifting about $96 worth of merchandise from Kmart.

Nicholas A. Clark, 21, of Pearl Street, Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Clark was stopped late Friday by Le Roy Police after reportedly being observed vomiting from his vehicle while on Munson Street.

Sherry L. Demmer, 39, of 20 Ross St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Demmer is accused of kicking a neighbor in the chest during an incident at 10:30 p.m., Friday.

Joseph H. Schenk, 19, of Route 33, Bergen, is charged with menacing, 2nd. Schenk is accused of displaying and swinging a hammer toward family members during a dispute at 9:35 p.m., Friday. Schenk was jailed on $1,500 bail.

An accident in the area of 7495 Maple Road is believed to have resulted in minor injuries.

OnStar reports impact was in the side of the car at 33 mph. There was air-bag deployment.

Alabama Fire Department and Mercy EMS responding.

UPDATE 10:12 a.m.: A second ambulance requested to the scene.

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Should police agencies install cameras to monitor public areas?

Buffalo News: Keep an eye on crime

A house has been reportedly struck by lightning at 11053 Mill Road, East Bethany.

There is a smell of smoke in the residence.

Bethany Fire Department being dispatched.

UPDATE 5 22 a.m.: More manpower requested to the scene. A house across the street also appears to have been struck. A chief requests help to further investigate the homes.

UPDATE 5:32 a.m.: Two houses are without power. National Grid requested to the scene (note: So far, no other power outages reported in the county).

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A severe thunderstorm is passing through the area and a storm warning is in effect until 6 a.m. for parts of Genesee County.

A storm capable of producing damaging winds up to 60 mph is currently centered around Medina and moving southeast at 30 mph.

The storm may pass directly through Oakfield and Byron.

Heavy hail and cloud-to-ground lightning are part of the storm.

The National Weather Service warns that people outdoors should seek shelter immediately. 

UPDATE 5:02 a.m.: New warning from the National Weather Service says the storm is centered near Attica and continues moving southeast at 25 mph.

Photo: Hail on the porch of Tammy Way at 4 a.m.

It's always gratifying when I'm at some public event and a fan of The Batavian comes up to me and tells me how much he or she loves the site. The word "addiction" pops up frequently.

Often times I remind the fan, "If you love The Batavian, tell our sponsors."

With out the local businesses who support The Batavian, the site wouldn't exist.

So, please, when you shop or dine, try to support a local business first, and the local businesses you should support first and foremost are the ones that help keep The Batavian going.

To help you in your quest to support sponsors of The Batavian, here's an updated list:

A.D. Call and Sons
Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Alabama Hotel
Alberty Drug Store
Alex's Place
Alli's Cones and Dogs
Baker's Frontier Kitchens
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Downs
Batavia Muckdogs
Beds 'n' Bones Pet Lodge
Beverly's Florist
Bohn's Restaurant
Bontrager's Auction
Bontrager's Real Estate
Bourbon & Burger Co.
Carlson's Studio
CASA
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center Street Smokehouse
Classic Home Improvements
Clor's Meat Market
Cookies & Milk
Computer & Phone Repair
Crazy Cheap Cars
Cruiser's Creamery
D&R Depot Restaurant
Dan's Tire
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
The Detail Shop
Dupont TV
Empire Tractor
The Enchanted Florist
Espresso Salads and Subs
EZ Budget Insurance
Fastec Automotive
Fedora's Diner
Ficarella's Pizzeria
Foxprowl Collectibles
Genesee Community College
Genesee County Emergency Services
Genesee Country Farmers Market
Genesee Dental Group
Genesee Graphics
Gilmartin
Glass Roots
Grammy's Laundry
Greens of LeRoy
H.E. Turner & Co.
Hardcor Audio
Hawley's Hots
High Voltage Tattoo
Holy Family School
I.R. Systems
The Insurance Center
J. Leonard McAndrew
Jagged Edges Salon
John's Service Station
Ken Barrett
KleenAll
Kraving's Kafe
Kreative Design Kitchen & Bath
L.C. Mosman
Lamb Family Medicine
Larry's Steakhouse
Lathan Tree Service
Le Roy Hearth and Home
Lei-Ti Campground
LPL Financial
Main St. Pizza Company
Making Memories of Travel
The Mane Attraction
The Manor House
Mark Lewis Agency
Matteo & Mullen, CPA
Max Pies
Michael Tomaszewski
Millennium Computer
Minty Wellness
Next Level Fitness
Nothnagle - Danielle Torcello
Nothnagle - Frank Minuto
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Optique
Pauly's Pizza
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Planned Parenthood
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
Red Osier
Russell Marchese, DDS
Scofield Roll-Off Service
Scratch Bakery
Select Collision
Settler's Restaurant
South Beach
South Main Country Store
Stafford Trading Post
Southside Deli
Terry Hills
The Finishing Line
Tim Kabel Building
T.F. Brown's
Valle Jewelers
Viking Valhalla/Rose Bowl
Windy Woods Custom Design
West Main Wine & Spirits
WNY Fireplace Outlet
Yassess Construction
Zoom N Groom Dog Grooming

It was a party all night long at the Town of Batavia Fire Hall on Lewiston Road on Saturday.

The annual shindig is held to announce the winner of the fire department's Harley raffle.

This year's winner was Eric Anderson from Bronxville.

Entertainment was provided by 7th Heaven, and Alex's Place was the caterer.  

It was the first time in a couple of years there was no rain during the event and everybody seemed to be having a good time.

To purchase photographic prints from this event, click here.

A tweet by country artist Brad Paisley has turned a local event into national news.

On July 23, Paisley played a show at Darien Lake and 14 people were arrested and another 56 received citations for alleged underage drinking.

Paisley's tweet: "Quite a performance in Darrien Lakes (sic) Saturday. We also played music..." 

And he included a link to a local news outlet.

The tweet has led to coverage in CMT, Country Weekly and The Tennessean, among others, as well as debates and discussions on country music radio about underage drinking and media outlets that publish such information.

For the record, Paisley's link went to this story on The Batavian: Brad Paisley fans arrested in droves at Darien Lake.

Coverage across the nation linked to The Batavian (even if the stories kept referring to our online-only site as "the local paper" and "the local newspaper." (Thanks to The Tennessean for correcting its references to The Batavian.)

I only mention this as a factual correction to coverage in another media outlet. Another news outlet based in Batavia left these facts out of its coverage of how national media is reporting on the arrests. Not to brag, but it wouldn't even be a national story if not for Brad's tweet, and the tweet was a response to coverage on The Batavian, not elsewhere. Just so you know.

More than 13,000 years ago, a bit of history sunk in the mud of what is now a small swamp off a back road in Byron, and unearthing that archeological record has been the life's work of Richard Laub.

A chapter of local history closes some time in the coming week when Laub wraps up his final dig at a place he calls the Hiscock Site and most local residents know as the "Byron Dig."

Laub started archeological work at the site in 1982 and that work has continued unabated for 29 years. 

Several factors, Laub said, have led to the tough decision to shut down the dig. While being non-specific about all the factors, he acknowledged that financing the effort has become increasingly difficult in recent years.

"It’s been such a wonderful project, such a wonderful experience, especially working with these people (the volunteers at the site), that I used to wonder, ‘How do I let go?' to say, 'OK, it’s time to quit,'" Laub said. "Fortunately, with these factors converging, other forces are telling me it’s time to quit, and I’m looking at the whole situation and going, ‘Yeah, it’s time to let go.’ I guess you could say providence gave me a little kick in the pants."

The dig is probably among the top three archeological sites for uncovering mastodon remains in the world, and it's also given up a treasure trove of human habitation finds.

More than 70 scientific papers have been published related to the dig, Laub said.

The significance and the history of the research at the site will probably mean that at some point in the future -- who knows how far into the future -- another paleontologist will want to take over excavation of the dig, Laub said.

Complete excavation will take decades.

"This is a site that is known internationally," Laub said. "It’s been extremely productive and very rich in terms of what it taught us, so I would think there would be other people who are interested in it."

The name, the Hiscock Site, comes from Charles Hiscock, the land's former owner, who in 1959, decided to dig a pond and instead dug up a mastodon tusk.

Hiscock notified the Buffalo Museum of Science and that was as far as the discovery went. Hiscock kept his mastodon parts and nobody at the museum seemed much interested in the site until the early 1980s.

In 1982, an anthropologist at the museum, Richard Michael Gramly, Ph.D, heard from another staff member about the site and thought he should do a sample dig to see if he could find evidence of human and mastodone co-existence.

He did a sample dig and was dissatisfied with the results (evidence of human habitation would eventually be found there).

"So I figured things had gone that far," Laub recalled, "that with that opening crack in the doorway, I had an obligation as a paleontologist to take a look."

Typically, Laub said, property owners are reluctant to let archeologists keep what they find in excavations, but unless the artifacts are properly secured, there isn't much point in digging them up.

"Hiscock was extremely cordial," Laub said. "I was just absolutely bowled over."

Not only would Laub be allowed to keep what he found, but Hiscock turned over to the museum the tusks and bones he had already unearthed.

"We could not have started our research if he had not allowed our institution to keep those things," Laub said. "...that was a very generous thing and it made all the difference in the world.

In 1989, Hiscock donated the land to the museum.

"We became close friends," Laub said. "We spent a lot of evenings together after a day's digging and I miss him very much."

The significance of the dig can't be understated, according to Laub.

"I don’t know too many collections in museums (like this)," he said. "There are collections in museums of rodents from a particular cave or pottery shards from a particular site, but something that takes into account the human and the non-human and the environmental aspects, I don’t think there are a lot of places like this."

As clouded as the future is for the dig, so it is for Richard Laub.

Beyond the next few months, his future is "completely opaque."

But he said he does know there is a future for him, just as there is for the dig.

"There’s a saying, 'If all you are is what you do, you’re not very much,'" Laub said. "So if my being is defined exclusively by this, then basically I’m dead after it ends. And I know that life goes on, so the important thing is to appreciate what has been done here and build upon it."

Below, slide show of photos taken at the site on Friday. Be sure to click the button in the lower right to view in full-screen mode.

It's been a beautiful day for a picnic in Byron and residents went to the park for hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream, live music, prizes and a parade of classic cars.

Above, the Ghost Riders perform, one of several live acts in the pavilion today.

More photos in the slide show below -- be sure to click on the "enlarge" button in the lower right.

The family of Sgt. James Hackemer, the Iraq war veteran killed July 8 when he was ejected from the Ride of Steel at Darien Lake Theme Park has filed a wrongful death suit against the two companies responsible for the amusement park.

From the Buffalo News: 

According to family attorney Denis J. Bastible, park employees violated Darien Lake’s own safety rules when they allowed the double amputee to ride the coaster.

“They didn’t train their employees to follow the rules and the result was tragic,” Bastible told the Buffalo News. “[Hackemer] leaves two very young children behind, and his family is doing terribly.”

Two weeks after the accident, state Labor Department investigators cited “operator error” as a factor in the death. Labor Department officials cited the amusement park for two violations, saying ride operators were improperly trained on safety requirements for the ride.

Named in the suit were CNL Income Darien Lake LLC, a real estate firm based in Dallas, owner of the park's land, and Herschend Family Entertainment, which manages the park.

According to the news article, Bastible is not concerned by remarks made by family members immediately following Hackemer's death saying they didn't hold Darien Lake accountable in the accident. Bastible said the remarks were made in the heat of the moment and the family gave thoughtful consideration to the decision to file a lawsuit.

The Manor House hosted a summer picnic for residents today. CEO Gordon Davis said there was a big turnout of friends and family joining the residents for lunch and live music.

Music was performed by Just for Fun, a group from Riga.

There were nine arrests and 56 citations issued by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office in connection with the Goo Goo Dolls concert at Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center on Sunday (At the Brad Paisley show, there were 14 arrests and 56 alleged ABC violations).

Jonathan L. Fohl, 19, of Ledge Lane, Williamsville, was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly causing a disturbance in the venue parking lot.

Sean M. Price, 19, of Eighth Ave, North Tonawanda, was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly fighting with security guards while being ejected from the venue.

Jeffrey J. DiLuca, 18, of Wyeth Drive, Getzville, was charged with trespass and possession of alcohol being under age 21 after allegedly refusing to leave the concert venue and being found to have been under age 21 consuming alcohol.

Joseph A. Kurtz, 22, of Glenwood Drive, Hamburg, was charged with trespass after allegedly refusing to leave the concert venue.

Vincent T. Vertalino, 18, of Woodrich Court, Hamburg, was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly urinating in public view inside the amusement park.

James E. Galanti, 19, of Pebble Beach Drive, Hamburg, was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly urinating in public inside the amusement park.

Russell B. Bermel, 25, of Mapleleaf Road, Williamsville, was charged with trespass after allegedly attempting to reenter the venue after being ejected and told not to return.

Nicholas J. Falzone, 18, of Connor Road, East Amherst, was charged with trespass after allegedly entering the concert venue without a ticket after being denied entry.

Jaqueline D. Deiley, 21, of Old Oak Road, McMurry, Pa., was charged with petit larceny after allegedly stealing an item from the medical facility inside the concert venue.

The following people received citations for allegedly possessing/consuming alcohol under age 21.

A 17-year-old of Ridge Road, Lackawana
Samantha M. Fitzpatrick, 18, of Ridgewood Circle, Lackawana
Ryan P. Zawodinski, 20, of Cynthia Circle, Orchard Park
Russell W. Hurley, 20, of Hawthorn Drive, Orchard Park
Molly M. Erickson, 18, of Jackman Lane, Elma
A 16-year-old of Birchwood Drive, Lake View
Andrew J. Baranyl, 18, of Carriage Hill East, Williamsville
Jennifer L. Mooney, 19, of Pierpont Avenue, Williamsville
A 17-year-old of BiaMarina Drive, Williamsville
A 17-year-old of Shetland Drive, Williamsville
A 17-year-old of Oakfield Lane, Williamsville
Sarah E. Cinski, 18, of Lilly Ridge Drive, East Amherst
William H. White III, 19, of Darwin Drive, Amherst
Joseph R. Cantiafio, 19, of Lilly Ridge Drive, East Amherst
Jay W. Schafer, 19, of Broadway Road, Darien
Sean M. McGrath, 18, of Paul Place, Buffalo
A 17-year-old  of Woodacres Drive, Williamsville
A 17-year-old  of Lamarck Drive, Amherst
A 17-year-old of Landing Creek Court, Williamsville
Jenelle K. Chapman, 20, of Apple Court, Niagara Falls
Sean A. Battisti, 20, of Ashwood Lane, Orchard Park
John V. Oddo, 18, of Athens Boulevard, Buffalo
A 17-year-old  of Audubon Drive, Amherst
Jacob G. DiMatteo, 20, of Fairmont Avenue, North Tonawanda
A 17-year-old of Baron Court, Getzville
James E. Ryan, 19, of Independence Drive, Orchard Park
Brian J. Sciandra, 20, of Argon Drive, Kenmore
Ashley M. Prentiss, 19, of Frontenac Avenue, Buffalo
Nicholas A. Cusenz, 20, of Bel Air Court, Williamsville
Ashleigh T. Szulist, 18, of Rutland Street, Buffalo
Ashley A. Fitzpatrick, 19, of Dearborn Street, Buffalo
Derek M. Paradowski, 19, of Maryvale Drive, Cheektowaga
Kallie L. Stahl, 19, of West State Route 579, Williston, Ohio
Mary Kathryn Sumbrum, 20, of Sheron Drive, West Seneca
Katie M. Felschow, 19, of O’Connell Avenue, Buffalo
Connor N. Sumbrum, 18, of Sheron Drive, West Seneca
Benjamin C. Gordon, 19, of Fairway Drive, Orchard Park
Jeffrey R. Baker, 19, of Scherff Road, Orchard Park
Patrick M. Violanti, 19, of Scherff Road, Orchard Park
Sean J. Rimmer, 19, of Harvard Place, Orchard Park
Rachel M. Biddle, 20, of Winspear Road, Elma
Amanda N. Lees, 18, of Quail Run Lane, Lancaster
A 17-year-old of Derby Road, Derby
A 17-year-old of Summer Street, Buffalo
A 17-year-old of Old Lakeshore Road, Lakeview
Michael J. Anderson, 18, of Rollingwood Street, Williamsville
Tyler J. Gerling, 18, of Rosscommon Crescent, Fairport
A 17-year-old of Joseph Street, Rochester
Ryan L. Danna, 18, of Oakridge Road, Hamberg
Rebecca L. Baia, 19, of Candlewood Lane, Williamsville
Jordan W. Fanestock, 20, of South Sausalito Drive, East Amherst
Lisa A. Samuels, 19, of Breezewood Commons, East Amherst
Elisabeth M. Mars, 20, of Lawrence Avenue, East Aurora
Ann M. Milks, 20, of Lawrence Avenue, East Aurora
Mary E. Angrisano, 20, of Snyder Road, East Aurora

A tractor-trailer has reportedly taken down a pole and wires at the Batavia Mobile Home Park, 3322 W. Main Street Road.

The wires are reportedly on the trailer.

It's unclear if any wires or portion of the pole is on West Main Street Road.

East Pembroke Fire Department is dispatched.

UPDATE 4:17 p.m.: Live wires reported on the truck.

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A fire in a bedroom at 3561 Lockport Road, Oakfield, was knocked down quickly, shortly after tones went out for several fire departments to respond.

A chief on scene confirms the fire is knocked down.

Initially dispatched were all Oakfield units along with tankers and engines from Alabama, Elba and Batavia.

All Oakfield units can now proceed non-emergency and all other units are put back in service.

UPDATE 12:44 p.m.: All Oakfield units back in service.

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The coaches of the Batavia Bulldawgs hosted a youth football clinic at Kibbe Park over Thursday, Friday and Saturday.