We found this pair of videos posted on YouTube. They were taken at a Notre Dame swim meet at Genesee Community College in Batavia last week.

"In late August, 1966, the city jail in Batavia, New York, held four regular prisoners, that is, four prisoners who were being kept on something more than an overnight basis." So begins The Sunlight Dialogues, by John Gardner, novelist, essayist, professor, Batavian.

Gardner appears at No. 6 in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of The Twenty-Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous. Not much of a surprise there.

Museum Director Pat Weissend:

As a young adult, John Gardner had many interests. He wrote plays, studied chemistry, played the French horn and was an Eagle Scout. While at Alexander High School, he drew a cartoon of an elephant in art class that was published in the July 1948 edition of Seventeen Magazine. For his senior year of high school, he transferred to the larger Batavia High School so he could take some more challenging classes. Every Saturday, he went to Rochester where he took French horn lessons at the Eastman School of Music’s Preparatory School.

Following his graduation from Batavia High School in 1951, Gardner had to decide where he was going to study. He was awarded a scholarship to the Eastman School, but he chose to go to DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and major in chemistry.

Of course, Gardner didn't last long as a chemist. He soon left Indiana for a university in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned his bachelor's degree, then went to Iowa for his doctorate. Gardner was hailed throughout his teaching career as a popular professor, yet it was his books that made him famous. Among his most well-known—Gardner published no less than 27 books—are the novels: Grendel, The Resurrection and The Sunlight Dialogiues, and two of his books on the art of writing: On Becoming a Novelist and The Art of Fiction. Gardner died in 1982 in a motorcycle accident in Pennsylvania.

There's plenty of interesting info to be found on Gardner on the Web, including The Batavian's own video of Batavia Reads John Gardner at the Pok-A-Dot. You can check that out below. The video was filmed and produced by Darrick Coleman.

You can also view a documentary, entitled Sunlight Man, produced by Gardner's son, Joel, about his father's life and work. On a Web site called The Arch and the Abyss, you will find a bibliography of Gardner's works, a miscellany, an archive. You can even order a John Gardner limited edition t-shirt. As always, the Genesee Community College John C. Gardner Appreciation Page has a wealth of resources, including links to a dozen other sites.

Photo courtesy of Genesee Community College Web site.

Better late than never... At Christmas in the City, here in Batavia a couple weeks back, we set up our camera and asked folks what Christmas means to them. Here's what a handful of your friends and neighbors had to say about the holiday:

Expect some snow showers to begin some time around 7 o'clock this evening. WBTA's Dan Fischer warns us of a National Weather Service advisory for tonight that should last until about noon tomorrow. What will start out as light snow in the Southern Tier and spread throughout the region will develop into a mix of snow and sleet in the morning hours. All told, expect between four to six inches of accumulation by tomorrow afternoon.

In other news, Indian tribes across the state are threatening legal action following Gov. David Paterson's move to start collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers. Barry Snyder, who heads up the Seneca Nation, said that he plans to "revisit every aspect of the nation's relationship to the state." Fischer thinks that might be a thinly veiled threat that the Seneca Nation will rethink its revenue sharing deal between the casinos and the state.

As I headed down Bank Street to church at Northgate this past Sunday, I noticed something in the road ahead of me. I thought "what the heck is that?". As my car got closer I noticed, it was a pair of shoes!

All the cars just kept going by them, mine included. As I settled into the pew at church I kept thinking about those shoes. How in the world did they end up there? Did someone set them on top of their car as they were getting in to go somewhere and forgot about them? Was someone angry and threw their shoes out the window? Maybe they were nestled in a backpack on the bag of a bicycle rider? Or maybe, just maybe they got tired of walking  in their own shoes! How many times have you heard someone say " try walking in my shoes"? Yes we all have walked many miles in our own shoes. We have all had many life experiences, some pleasant and some not so pleasant.

During this holiday season, we are all putting extra miles on our shoes while we are busy getting ready for Christmas day. Currently, our shoes are working overtime trying be prepared for the big day. Our shoes are taking us to the local malls, standing at the oven baking the Christmas cookies, trudging through the field to find the perfect Christmas tree, standing outside of Walmart ringing the bell, singing carols on the streets, walking across stages to practice the Christmas play and the list goes on and on.

Do you know where your shoes are? Where have your shoes been taking you lately?

If you are tired of walking in your shoes, try someone else's on for size. You may find that your shoes are not that bad after all. But, if you are tempted, feel free to stop by the roadside and try these ones on. I stopped after church and picked them up out of the middle of the road and moved them to the curb just in case the owner went looking for them or if  by chance someone wanted to try walking in someone else shoes for a day.

Cindy Morelli says in her "about" on her profile that she's looking for a job.

We have a Jobs section for employers looking for help, but we haven't really set up a way for a process for job candidates to let potential employers know of their availability, but if you write a blog post about your experience, qualifications and the kind of job you're seeking, we'll find a way to highlight your post.

We're continuely on the look out for local bloggers -- Batavia needs more of them.

In checking member profiles tonight, we found the blog of  Arlana Pathammavong.

Mostly, it's a personal blog of her interests and observations, but she's a good blogger and includes some tidbits of local interest, such as this post about the Pok-A-Dot.

A chimney fire has been reported at 8824 Lovers Lane, in Corfu. It has been upgraded to a second alarm fire.

We'll most more information when it's available.

UDPATE: 5:24 p.m. The alarm has been down graded and some units returning to stations.

While we were out covering the mobile home fire in East Bethany earlier this afternoon, we received reports of a two-car crash out in the town of Darien. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but one of the cars had apparently run into a tree. So, already on the road, we drove out to take a photograph. Here's the car and the tree:

Not exactly what we had expected.

While we were on the scene, however, we got to talking with a fellow who told us that this corner (County Line Road and Sumner Road) is a frequent site of accidents. What might the county do to make the roads safer here?

Others have tried before and failed to collect taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers. Nevertheless, faced with a $15 million budget shortfall, Gov. David Paterson could not keep from trying to tap into the estimated $400 million that is lost annually by the state through the sale of tax-free cigarettes.

From the Buffalo News:

Gov. David A. Paterson this morning signed into law a new effort to begin collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Indian retailers to non-Indians, a move certain to spark controversy and push-back from the booming tobacco trade on Seneca Nation reservations.

That article takes quite a comprehensive look at some of the changes that will be proposed by the governor to help chip away at the budget deficit, including increased gambling hours at racetrack casinos and a revamping of the state's Empire Zone program.

What do you think of the governor's proposals? Should he try and get the tax money from cigarette sales? Will he succeed? What are some other ideas he might try to implement to bring more money into the state?

 Today's example goes back to the ordinary home, after a couple of days with massive displays on large properties.

This home on Elm St. in Batavia may be modest in size, but takes full advantage of the given space with plenty of lights and decorations.

Who would steal a laptop and computer and then send it into the manufacture for servicing?

Whomever swiped Rich Clark's laptop last week, that's who.

Mr. Clark, 27, just dropped by The Batavian office to let his know his computer arrived safely at the service center today.

On Thursday, we highlighted a classified Clark had posted on The Batavian noting that a black box had been stolen from his work truck.

It turns out the box contained a laptop, valued at $1,000, that Clark and labeled and set up to send back for service.  Whoever took it -- whether he saw the post on The Batavian or not -- dropped the box in the mail and it arrived safely at the service center.

Clark, who operates his own satellite installation company and works for IGT, said he couldn't believe the computer had been returned. "It's just amazing. Amazing," he said.

The Batavian is heading out to find out more information on a reported mobile home fire on Ellicott Street Road in Bethany. We will post additional info as it becomes available.

View Larger Map

Updated: 2:17pm... We arrived on scene a little under a quarter of an hour ago. No flames could be scene inside or outside the mobile home, which is situated on a plot of land just past East Road on Ellicott Street Road. Fire crews are on scene, and they seem to have everything under control. Some thin wisps of smoke are still blowing out the back of the home. No real damage to the front of the structure. No further information is available at this time. We will bring you updates as they become available.

New York's new Farm Bureau President, Dean Norton, of Batavia, will be heading to San Antonio next month for the annual convention of the American Farm Bureau Federation, according to the Daily News. Once there, Norton, along with some 5,000 other farm bureau members from across the nation, will attend more than a dozen conferences on issues related to the industry, including

sessions on the turbulent global economy and how it relates to U.S. agriculture, the urgent need for livestock producers to become activists, the continuing debate over biofuels, crop and livestock outlooks for 2009, and much more.

(This information was available in a news release issued by the AFB that can be accessed via the group's Web site.)

Immigration reform will likely take top priority for Norton as he settles in. Tom Rivers writes:

Norton expects immigration reform -- setting a policy that would significantly boost legal farmworkers in agriculture -- to be at the top of the Farm Bureau priority list at the state and national levels.

"It's a safe bet to say that immigration will be a big one (on the agendas)," Norton said by phone Sunday from Washington.

Rivers also cites a survey put together by a pair of Cornell University researchers, in which some 1,200 state farms were questioned on the importance of immigration reform.

From that survey:

Many farm managers are concerned about labor supply. They feel that immigration reform is an urgent public issue and very important to their business. While the survey did not inquire about managers’ responses to the current immigration environment, ongoing informal feedback from farm managers and the organizations that represent them reveal a number of emerging trends and responses. As a result of increasing controversy over immigration reform as well as increased immigration enforcement activities, farm managers are beginning to make decisions they would not have made several years ago.

Farm managers told the researchers that they want to be more involved in the policy making process. "Agricultural employers are aware that their voice is often overshadowed by the large number of non-farm voters concerned about immigration reform," said researchers.

Some are concerned that many farms are "holding off expansion plans until they are more certain that they can acquire the workforce necessary for larger agricultural operations." In other words, uncertainty regarding the stability and constancy of the labor pool is causing farms to stunt their own growth. Farms are also doing all they can to reduce the visibility of immigrant laborers in the community in an attempt to avoid detention and deportation.

One potential solution offered by those surveyed involves searching for alternative labor pools. Some farm managers are even "reluctantly considering recruiting local workers, but they expect that the work ethic and work performance will be below that of the current Hispanic workers."

You can download the complete survey here. Also, be sure to check out the piece in today's Daily News by Tom Rivers.

Eric C. Garrett, 29, of 112 Tracy Ave., Batavia, was charged with a feloy count of second-degree burglary, a felony count of second-degree robbery, a felony count of second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, Saturday, city police said. Garrett is accused of breaking into the home of a female acquaintance on Richmond Avenue. Once inside, Garrett allegedly pushed the woman to the ground and threw a coffee table on top of her. When she tried to call the police, he allegedly took her cell phone from her and broke it. Garrett was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $3,500 bail.

Christopher L. Smith, 25, of Warsaw, was charged with driving while intoxicated and unlawful possession of marijuana Sunday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Smith was stopped for an alleged traffic violation on Route 63 in Alabama. He was also ticketed with moving from the lane unsafely.

Daryl L. Morse, 43, of Churchville, was charged with second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and unlawful possession of marijuana Saturday, deputies said. Morse was stopped for an alleged traffic violation on Route 33 in the town of Bergen. He was also ticketed with inadequate lights, expired inspection and unlicensed operator.

Joshua Barber, 18, of Le Roy, was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property Saturday for an incident that occurred on December 3, deputies said. Barber was allegedly found in possession of a stolen stop sign from the corner of Harris and Asbury roads in the town of Le Roy. He had allegedly put the stop sign in the trunk of his car. The sign has since been returned to the town of Le Roy Highway Department.

Batavia's City Board of Education will meet tonight at 7:00pm at the administration building on Washington Avenue, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. You can download the meeting agenda via the city schools' Web site. Board members are expected to go into an executive session regarding an employment matter.

In other news, Fischer reports that Tops Markets will add as many as ten new stores throughout the region, including several that are planned for Buffalo and Rochester. The supermarket chain will also invest some $150 million in renovations to its existing stores.

Today's Christmas light post is one I found on the ride out to Jim DiSalvo's property on Fargo road. 

This well decorated home is the first one you see when you turn off of Route 5 and onto Fargo. While it may not have the half million bulbs the showcase down the road does, this home has plenty of lights and characters. There is also speakers with Christmas music playing.

(I'm also taking suggestions if anybody has homes they would like to see featured on The Batavian)

"This is part of our Christmas tradition every year."

Those are the words Debbie Renteria yelled to Jim DiSalvo from her car window, as she drove her children around DiSalvo's Stafford property early Friday evening. You could see the smile, and sense of satisfaction on DiSalvo's face.

It is probably something he hears a hundred times a week during the Christmas season, and has for the last 14 years.

DiSalvo started decorating his enormous front yard with lights almost a decade and a half ago and it keeps growing every year.

"It's a lot of fun," said DiSalvo, who is the president of Applied Business Systems and manager of Team America Racing, where his son Jason is a star Superbike rider. "There is nothing I enjoy more than walking outside on a night like this and seeing the cars and the people."

DiSalvo's property is tucked away at 9180 Fargo Road in Stafford, just as you leave Batavia on Route 5, but once you make a sharp turn, you can't miss the decorations.

Almost every tree on the property has lights, there are over a half million bulbs in use and there are over 350 different lighted characters in the yard. Practically every tree has its own power outlet in the ground near it, there are over two miles of underground cable in use, there are an additional 500 extension cords in use and it takes four 200 AMP generators powering the show.

There is also two very large speakers and a 250 watt amp playing Christmas music that can be heard from the street.

DiSalvo has a full light crew that starts putting up the decorations the first week of December and finishes in mid-to-late November. The lights stay up until January 5.

The amount of people that visit Jim, and wife Connie's home is a number that DiSalvo couldn't even estimate. He says that on weekends the traffic is bumper-to-bumper.

"I like to sit in the front yard and watch (the people visit). It's non-stop," DiSalvo said.

The DiSalvo home must have more Christmas spirit than any other location in the area. Last week, the DiSalvos hosted over 300 Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts from the area for hot chocolate, cookies and a tour of the property.

 People often stop and leave gifts on DiSalvo's front porch, and he witnessed one of the most unique acts of the holiday season he has ever seen this past week.

DiSalvo noticed somebody dressed as Santa Claus sitting near a tree in the front yard, so he went to investigate.

"I asked him if he was really Santa," DiSalvo joked.

It turns out that the unidentified man has done this for a couple of years now. He sits in DiSalvo's winter wonderland dressed as Father Christmas with a bag of toys, waiting for his eight year old grandson. The child comes to check out the lights and gets to meet Santa, and receive gifts.

That was an experience that sums up why DiSalvo puts together the biggest display of area Christmas lights.

"It's all for the kids, really," DiSalvo said.

Here is a Flickr page with 23 photos of DiSalvo's Christmas lights, but it is advised that you take the short ride to Fargo Road to get the full effect.