Batavia's City Council will meet tonight at 7 p.m. at the City Centre. Their only order of business is a vote to abolish the city's Board of Ethics, which would henceforth hand over all questions of potential ethics violations to the county's board, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer.

Today and tomorrow will be mild compared to the expected temperatures later this week. An Arctic front will blow in Wednesday, dropping temperatures down to near zero that day and possibly even as low as minus five degrees on Thursday. Follow this link to download a helpful extereme cold weather guide.

 We were supposed to get slammed with some big-time snow last night. I woke up this morning with the ambition to go out and photograph some carnage.

It was actually pretty nice.

As you can see, most streets and driveways are clear and the only real damage I found was a power wire down.

Here at The Batavian, we're in a constant mode of making improvements and upgrades to the site.

One feature requested a while back was discussion boards, or forums, a place for people to start their own topics of conversation.

Tom Gilliatt, whom many of you have known as Tom G since the site launched, has agreed to help monitor and manage the forums.

Thanks, btw, to both Tom and Gabor for recently changing their user profile to include their full real name to comply with our requirement for real names on the site. 

You can reach the discussion boards through the Forums link in the navigation bar across the top of the Web page.

 With the amount of students dropping at local schools, I have a thought that within the next few years we might start seeing more schools combine their programs.

The current BEDS numbers are an indication that our area schools are getting smaller and smaller. Most of our schools are Class C or D as it is right now, and there has been a rumor flying around that Attica is dropping from a B to a C next year. 

I just confirmed that the Blue Devils will be playing in Class C next season, but just for football. It will probably be for all sports the year after next.

"I think it's good and it gives us an opportunity to see some different teams," Attica coach Jeff Cusmano said. "I don't think Class C is any easier (for sectionals). You still have your teams like Le Roy, Pembroke and Letchworth, but from a physical standpoint it may help us out."

This year's graduating class at Attica is 147 and Cusmano's son is in third grade, where there are only 100 kids in the class. So enrollment is going to keep dropping in Attica.

Playing in Class C is no cake-walk as Cusmano said, but will give the Blue Devils a better chance to compete. Attica has only won two sectional games in its history, playing in Class B. They knocked off East Rochester/Gananda for the second this year, but then were destroyed by Bath.

"When we go into a Class B playoff game, you have to be able to match up and we couldn't do that with Bath," Cusmano said. "You have teams like Geneva and Hornell that are (larger schools) and pretty tough. We will be able to better match up in sectionals."

With the amount of Class D schools we are going to have in the Genesee Region League and Livingston Conference, is it possible that teams are going to have to merge sports so that there are enough Class C schools to compete.

This past year we saw Elba and Byron-Bergen combine their football program, and it is likely that more athletic teams will be hooking up from those two schools.

Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke were Class C this year, but both are expected to be Class D very soon.

Section 5 has the most amount of Class D schools in the state, and I'm just wondering if we are going to see more merging. As it is right now, Class D plays one less regular season game because they have to be divided into two classes, and have a playoff after sectionals to see which team moves on to states.

There is currently talk of making the Class D sectionals just a four team competition and allowing schools to play a full seven week regular season. While other classes have eight schools in the playoffs, Class D would only get four teams.

Will Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke combine programs so that they can compete in Class C or even be a small B school? Caledonia-Mumford has been moved down to Class D and enrollment keeps dropping, so are they going to join up with another school so they can play in an eight team playoff?

This may or may not happen, but with Class D becoming so overloaded, I think we are going to see some major changes in Section 5 football in the near future.

Yet another good reason to stay in and watch the NFL playoffs - the weather is going to get pretty bad.

Things should get pretty nasty later this evening and through the night, according to weather.com. 

The snow is expected to start at around 3:45 p.m. and will get serious by 7 p.m. and will continue all through the night. 

Here is a copy of the Winter Weather Advisory issued by the National Weather Service this morning.

... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 AM EST SUNDAY...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 6 AM EST SUNDAY.

LIGHT SNOW WILL SPREAD NORTH ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND ACCUMULATE AN INCH OR SO BY THIS EVENING. THE SNOW WILL BECOME MORE STEADY TONIGHT AND ACCUMULATE ANOTHER 3 TO 5 INCHES... BRINGING TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS TO ABOUT 4 TO 6 INCHES BY SUNDAY MORNING.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NORMALLY ISSUED FOR A VARIETY OF WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS SUCH AS LIGHT SNOW... BLOWING SNOW... SLEET... FREEZING RAIN AND WIND CHILLS. WHILE THE WEATHER WILL BE SIGNIFICANT... THE WORD ADVISORY IMPLIES THAT SEVERE WINTER WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

Daily News writer Paul Mrozek has a lengthy piece out today on Gov. Paterson's plans to tell parents how to raise their children -- specifically how to control their diets.

He includes all the facts from the governor's perspective, but passes over one lone skeptical voice deep in the article.  There is little focus on the propriety of New York engaging in social engineering, nor the degree to which this plan is going to create new bureaucracies and hence new expenses, whether there is any evidence such a plan will work, nor how the plan will impact businesses and create new costs that will be passed along to all consumers.

The most far-reaching of the proposals is an 18 percent sales tax on sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda. Juices from fruit such as oranges and grapes are excluded from the proposed tax.

In the past 40 years New York residents have increased their consumption of pop from an average of five 12-ounce cans or bottles per week to 11 per week. Research has shown that consumption of non-diet soft drinks is one of the primary factors that increases the risk of obesity in children and adults.

"No question about the link. We have a core fact in front of us," Daines said.

Not so fast. There is a question. A big fat question.

To blame all low-income obesity on soda pop alone is myopic. Low-income diets tend to be heavy in empty carbohydrates of all kinds, not just sugar. Children living in food insecure homes consume less healthy food. One reason there is such an abundance of empty-carb foods can be traced to farm subsidies for corn, but even that connection is a rather simplistic view of the obesity problem among poorer children.

There is also the question of proper exercise.  In too many homes, children are allowed to watch TV or play video games rather than being required to run around outside.

These are largely parental issues, not government issues.

If the government wanted to do something to help, they would restructure aid programs to make it easier to buy healthier food.  Given a choice, most parents would pick more meats, fruits and vegetables. But right now these options are beyond their budgets. 

Driving up the costs of the high-carb foods isn't going to help them afford the good foods.

The article says, "You raise prices. You provide alternatives."  But what are those alternatives. How are they paid for and provided?  If the alternatives are paid for by the tax, how does the state ensure sufficient revenue for those alternatives once consumption of the taxed items goes down?

Will taxed drinks receive some sort of stamp like alcohol and cigarettes?  If so, aren't we just creating yet another environment for potential illegal black market activities?

And one issue about the proposed tax I've not seen discussed anywhere is the impact on business: Who will levy the tax? Will retail outlets be burdened with the the expense of tracking and tallying the tax, which could include the expense of reprogramming cash registers?  And if the tax is imposed at the wholesale level, won't it just get passed along to all consumers of soft drinks and other beverages from those particular wholesalers?

What about vending machines? Will vendors be required to have two prices on drinks in their machines -- one for taxed items, and one for non-taxed? Or will us diet drinkers just pay more? Who pays for the expense of reprogramming machines or replacing machines that aren't capable of handling tiered prices on soft drinks?

Per usual, any time the government starts interfering in private lives and private enterprise, there are as many if not more problems created than solved.

Here's an appropriate and timely video from Reason Magazine.

Yesterday, we brought you some extracts from a report by the Center for Governmental Research on the potential consolidation of the town and city of Batavia. We would still encourage everyone in those municipalities to download and read the full document (it's about seven pages or so). In the meantime, we would like to present you with the four most commonly asked questions of the researchers as they interviewed leaders in the city and town on the topic of consolidation. Here's what they heard most:

1. "How can we ensure that city and town residents and businesses are fairly represented in the new government?"

2. "How can we ensure that the current costs and obligations of the city are not unfairly transferred to current town taxpayers?"

3. "What would happen with fire and police services?"

4. "What is the process for approving the creation of New Batavia?"

Answers to all of these questions, to a certain extent, depend on the plan that has not yet been planned. That being said, the Center for Governmental Research has some answers to help appease folks in the meantime. That is particularly the case for questions one and three. Amusingly, the CGR recommends a charter review committee works out those details in time for the November vote. We say amusing, because the city has been working on its own charter for quite some time now, and all of the work would essentially be null and void if a consolidation goes through. Daily News reporter Joanne Beck explored this irony in a recent article in that paper.

As for the other questions... Question two—will the cities burdens become the towns—has been the most frequent that I have heard. Basically, CGR says that consolidation of the city and town "can be expected to yield both short term and long term savings" for everyone. To me, that makes it sound like a non-issue.

Question four—approving the creation of New Batavia—is a real hoot. Quite simply, there's nothing that says the consolidtion has to be voted on by residents. However, the state Legislature does get a say.

As for the next steps...

Number One: Develop a plan! (Seriously, that's number one.)

Number Two: Get some money, because you will need it.

Number Three: Get more input.

There you go. Is everybody ready?

"It's not like I'm planning on being president or anything," Nicholas Prospero told me across the kitchen table at his home in Bergen.

His parents snickered on the other side of the room. They couldn't believe it. After all, Nick may be the most ambitious 14-year-old to ever walk the halls of Byron-Bergen Middle School, and he's already poised to stake his claims in the high school. And that's no exaggeration. Nick's school principal honored him as having "literally provided more services" to the middle school than anyone else "in the history of the school," his father, Jon, said.

Nicholas was twice the student body president of the middle school, once took over the treasury position when that representative bailed mid-semester, worked as a sort of liaison with the school's advisor, oversaw all school events—and all that in addition to track, soccer, band and choir... and, you know, a few other posts and activities here and there.

"It wasn't that bad," Nicholas said of the workload. He shrugs. I believe him, even though I can't believe him. He says he took this year off to get used to the high school. He started ninth grade this past September, and he has plans to join the high school's student council as a representative next year.

In a couple weeks, Nick will be boarding a plane by himself bound for Washington, D.C. He has been selected along with 4,000 other students from across the nation to attend the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference. That includes a ticket to the inauguration of President Barack Obama January 20. He'll be standing there as the parade rolls down Pennsylvania Avenue. Millions are expected to descend on the city that day. Not everyone's got a ticket, however.

"I'm looking forward to it," Nick said. "It could have been history either way the election went."

Nick had been nominated to attend the inauguration when he was in seventh grade, two years ago. At the time, he had no idea who would be heading up the parade in Washington.

He's especially stoked about the black tie gala inaugural ball, where he plans to dress in a silver tuxedo. Nice. It's too bad, he tells me, that Lance Armstrong won't be speaking—he had initially been on the bill—but Al Gore and Colin Powell will have to do. Nick cheered on Al Gore for president when he was in first grade, he said. His classroom had a poster of Gore smiling, thumbs up. He just looked like the right guy for the job. Unfortunately, Nick was about ten years too young to vote. Besides, he didn't live in Florida, so it wouldn't have mattered much anyway.

"I want to hear how they were able to be successful in life, how they got where they are, how hard they worked to make it happen," he said of the speakers.

You might not believe it, but Nick is "not that big on" politics. Or so he says.

Right now, he thinks he would like to become a sports writer. We told him that he's welcome to write for us, anytime. We're hoping to get a few reports of the inauguration live from Washington while he's down there.

Yesterday, we ran a post on some of the details of the consolidation proposal. Later today, we'll get more into what has yet to happen if this issue will truly go to a public vote this November. For now, we thought to play a little hypothetical game. One of the lines in the report on consolidation prepared by the Center for Governmental Research reads: "For discussion purposes, we will refer to this new consolidated government as New Batavia."

That's right: New Batavia. It's got a nice ring to it. Now, if we had to vote tomorrow on who should run this new, mega rural-opolis, whom would you vote for?

As some of you may already know, the 'Other' responses do not automatically show up here, so we'll do our best to get them added in the comment field throughout the day. Personally, I'm going other and nominating former Main Street Coffee proprietor, Rob Credi, for the post. Either him or Tim Paine.

For those who have been with the site for a while, you may have noticed we like to post the adoption videos posted on YouTube by the Genesee County Animal Shelter. Well, today, we found a few new videos from the shelter that are quite fun. Usually, the shelter crew just records the animals frolicking around and sets that to some quirky music. In three new videos, the shleter crew actually gives "interviews" with... well, really about the dogs. Check it out:

An Oakfield man is in jail this morning following an arrest on more than a dozen felony charges made yesterday by the Genesee County sheriff's deputies. Corey W. Klase, 24, of Oakfield, was arrested at his home, where deputies allegedly found a video that depicts Klase "engaging in multiple sexual acts" with a 15-year-old girl, along with several other items, which were not named.

Klase was charged with two counts of use of a child in a sexual performance, two counts of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child, two counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child, two counts of possession of an obscene sexual performance by a child, two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of third-degree rape. All charges are felonies.

Klase was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.

Everybody's talking about consolidation. Will the city and town of Batavia merge into a single entity? Even more important than that: If it does, what will that mean for me and my taxes? In the hopes of shedding some light on the topic—rather than further obfuscating the issue by pandering to rumor—we thought to invite two of the major players down to our office for a video interview. We had hoped to ask Charlie Mallow, the city's council president, and Greg Post, the town's supervisor, to explain as succinctly as possible the central issues involved in a potential consolidation.

Unfortunately, Post didn't have much to say. It's far too early in the game, he said. Most of what we've been hearing so far has been "a lot of hype and political posturing," he said. He then recommended we check out the memorandum issued by the Center for Governmental Research on the upcoming consolidation study. Once we've done so, he would be more than willing, he said, to answer questions pertaining to specifics as they were mentioned in that document. So we did that. In fact, the document is right now sitting on the desk before me.

Before we turn again to Mallow and Post with some more specific questions, we thought it would be a good time to extract a few choice nuggets from the memorandum to help give folks a clearer idea of just where we are in this whole process and just where we may be going. Hadn't someone said that we would be voting on whether to consolidate as soon as November? Could that be true? Well, before we jump that gun, let's look at what we do know (all of the following excerpts have been taken from the memorandum by the Center for Governmental Research issued to the "City and Town of Batavia Consolidation Study Committee" on December 15). You may download the complete document here.

"The overall objective study was to identify ways to make the joint operations of the two governments more effective and efficient, by exploring ways to work together incrementally under a shared services approach, up to and including full consolidation of the two governments. Results of the study are expected to be delivered by October, 2009."

"If the City and Town of Batavia consolidate into one government ... This would be enough to reduce the combined property tax levy of the City and Town by 15% per year."

"In greater Batavia, local governments have ironed out their differences over provision of regional water service, and the City and Town have worked cooperatively on a regional waste water treatment system. However, current boundaries and the resulting turf protection issues have made it very difficult to develop cost effective regional solutions to deliver ambulance, police and fire services."

"Batavia already has two distinct advantages in pursuing consolidation:

• Most public school students in the town attend the Batavia City School District. Thus, there is not a town versus city conflict in public education within the greater community.
• The City and Town share the same name, thus there would be no loss of brand identity from the perspective of the outside world if the two entities were to consolidate."

"Fortunately for Batavia ... the top elected leaders in both the City and the Town are willing to actively support consolidation as being the right thing to do for the greater community in the long run."

Those are the main points made in the first part of the memorandum. Perhaps the most significant recommendation comes later on in the report, under the section: Moving Forward. It recommends that the joint study committee "should strongly consider developing a plan for consolidation that, if approved by the City Council and Town Board, could be put to a vote in the general election on November 3, 2009."

Whoa! There it is.

We can't yet say how any of this will work, we don't even have a plan, not even a confirmation of when the plan will start, but in ten months, the residents ought to be ready to put it to a vote! What's more bizarre, if the vote passes, the consolidation wouldn't even happen until 2011.

Here's my favorite line: "For discussion purposes, we will refer to this new consolidated government as New Batavia."

We would encourage anyone who is interested in these developments to download the complete copy of the memorandum (the link is above). There is much more to be read, some of which we hope to highlight in another post tomorrow, including the next steps, brief sketches of the different phases of the project and the four most common questions so far raised.

For now, we're in the midst of Phase One: "Develop a baseline of current operations." This should be completed by March 1, when we dive into the much more complex Phase Two: "Develop a model for New Batavia." That would be finished by May, when we would begin the final phase leading up to the November referendum: "Community discussion..." That's where I'm sure things will get especially interesting.

So... While we're getting things ready for the big discussion, it seems like a great time to ask: What do you want New Batavia to be? I say we build tunnels. Everywhere. Tunnels.

Melissa J. Beaumont, 30, of Rochester, was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital this afternoon where she was treated for a neck injury and released following a two-car crash on Route 19 in Le Roy, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Beaumont was driving on Route 19 when she failed to negotiate a curve and lost control of the vehicle. Her car then slid into the opposite lane, colliding with a pickup truck coming from that direction. The truck, operated by James M. Smith, 45, of Warsaw, was pushed into the guard rail, then off the shoulder and into a snow embankment. Smith did not report any injury.

Yesterday, we ran a post about Congressman Chris Lee's swearing-in as the representative of the 26th Congressional District. In a press release sent out by Lee's office earlier this week, we were informed of a pair of upcoming open houses at Lee's district offices in Erie and Monroe counties. That begged the question: What about Genesee County? So we wrote to Lee's press secretary, Andrea Bozek, to find out.

Bozek, who has always been quick to respond to our inquiries, replied:

"Congressman Lee will be fighting everyday in Congress for the people in Genesee County and all the seven counties he represents. We will be announcing several satellite office hours throughout the district and advisory boards."

We'll be sure to let you know as soon as we know where and when those satellite office hours are established.

In other news, it sounds like Lee has already taken a couple of strides in Washington. He recently co-sponsored legislation, according to Bozek, "to block congressional pay raises and has sent a letter to the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission ... regarding legislation that could harm several small businesses in our community."

Here's an excerpt from that letter:

As currently written, the (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) would require all products for children twelve and under be tested for lead and other chemicals. However, the CPSIA includes no provision to exclude items in which lead is practically nonexistent, such as clothing, toys, and other goods made of natural materials, from the testing requirements.

Were these provisions to take effect, small businesses would be forced to either spend considerable sums testing these products or stop selling them altogether. For instance, I recently heard from a consignment store owner in my district who says the Act could force her to shut down a business she has had for seventeen years. Many families in our community rely on her store for affordable clothes, especially in the current economic climate.

I am pleased to see that the Commission shares these concerns and has voted to grant exemptions in these and other related categories. At the same time, because of the Commission’s thirty day public comment period, these rule changes will not be imposed until after the CPSIA takes effect on February 10, 2009. On behalf of the consignment stores, small manufacturers and retailers in New York’s 26th District, I respectfully request that you explore ways to finalize these exemptions prior to the February 10 deadline. At a minimum, the Commission should assure business owners that the rules as currently written will not be enforced while the exemptions are under consideration.

An article published today in the Wall Street Journal takes up this issue of lead testing laws from the point of view of second-hand shops, such as thrift stores, that will no longer be able to carry any toys if the exemptions are not made in the legislation. From that article:

The new rules, which impose stricter limits on lead allowed in children's products, also make it illegal to sell recalled products. But it is difficult for thrift shops to verify whether the items they sell comply with safety regulations.

That's right folks, it's time to play everybody's favorite audio clip guessing game: Name that Wintertime Sound... Simply click on the link to open the audio file in another window. Please give it a minute to load before pressing play or else the sound will be choppy.

Here's a clue: It's not Tito Puente.

Time for an update with a photo clue. This should give it away. Thanks for playing!

James A. Dean, 51, of Bethany, was charged with driving while intoxicated Tuesday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Dean was stopped on Route 63 in the town of Batavia for allegedly driving "in an intoxicated manner."

Heather L. Robinson, 36, of Stafford, was charged with driving while intoxicated early this morning, deputies said. Robinson was stopped on Buckley Road in the town of Stafford after she allegedly failed to stop for the stop sign at the intersection of Buckley Road and Route 5.

 Batavia wrestling coach Rick Stewart figured the school uniforms were coming for state competition. But he thinks the possible $300 charge for Empire State Games participants is going to kill the event.

"It is what it is, but I think there must be another way the state can raise money," Stewart said. "As a coach, if my kid were to make Empires, and it cost $300 to get uniforms and stuff when it was free before, I would still encourage him to do it."

Stewart agrees with most that the hefty cost will deter many athletes from even trying out for the games, but has a good idea on how to keep the numbers up for the scholastic grapplers.

" There is an adult (open) and kids (scholastic) competition," Stewart said. "I would be more than willing to say that the state should furnish the kids, but once you are an adult and have your own job and make money, you can pay to participate - split it in half rather than everybody paying for it. When you are an adult, it is a hobby for you."

As far as schools wearing their own singlets for the state competition and the possibility of having just one champion, Stewart believes New York State is the only one that still has team uniforms for each section - and that small school wrestlers can compete with the big schools.

"Back when I was in school, that's how it was," Stewart said of having a single state champion in each weight class. "I don't think it makes that big of a deal in wrestling. It makes all the difference in the world, but it matters in dual meets. A school like Spencerport or Fairport has twice the number of kids to fill their weight classes."

The Blue Devils are 14-5 and have several potential sectional champions that could contend for a state title.

As most of you are already aware, Gov. David Paterson pronounced his State of the State address from Albany yesterday. One message that came through loud and clear throughout the address and especially at its conclusion was that of sacrifice.

Rochester's Democrat & Chronicle picked up this quote: "We will sacrifice what we want today in order to achieve what we need tomorrow," he told a joint session of the state Legislature. "We will make sacrifices, but they must be shared sacrifices."

Yesterday evening, Democrats from Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties issued a joint statement, summing up their thoughts and reflections following the address.

As we enter an era of uncertainty, Governor Paterson calls on all of us to work for the survival of our State with hope, courage and bi-partisan action. Speaking of "one state one future," the Governor recognized the need to revitalize every part of New York, including our region, by focusing on the need to strengthen our health care system, combat childhood obesity, make college affordable for all, improve local government efficiency, rebuild infrastructure, develop 21st century energy efficiency, create bio-tech jobs, increase tourism, and form a consortium on hybrid electric battery manufacturing. This speech was a call to the legislature and, ultimately, the people across the State, to recognize that these are very tough times, our problems need to be solved together, and every New Yorker needs to tighten his or her belt, confident in the hope of a better tomorrow.

We hope to hear more of your reactions to the State of the State throughout the day today.