These photos of the Alexander Memorial Day observance were submitted by Pamela Dayton and Rick Franclemont. Top photo by Pamela, second by Rick and the ones after the jump by Pamela.

An ATV rider in the area of Malby Road, east of Fisher Road, reportedly suffered facial and rib injuries in an accident.

He also lost consciousness, but is awake and alert now.

Oakfield Fire and Mercy EMS are responding.

UPDATE 7:05 p.m.: No need for Mercy Flight.

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With new construction at UMMC, local veterans must raise funds for the displaced War Veterans Memorial that sat for decades outside the main entrance to the hospital.

Today, local veterans gathered at the Jerome Center on Bank Street to honor America's war dead and kick off the fund raising efforts for the new memorial.

More pictures after the jump

The 13th annual "Friday Night in the Square" concert series begins June 18 and ends Aug. 27.

The free, public concerts take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in Jackson Square in Downtown Batavia, located in the alleyway of Jackson or Center streets. Bring your own seating. Food and refreshments will be available for sale. If it's raining, venue changes to Batavia City Centre, inside the mall.

"Friday Night in the Square" is sponsored by the Downtown Business Improvement District. For information on this or any other downtown event, contact BID Director Don Burkel. Visit on the web at <www.downtownbataviany.com>.

Here's the lineup folks:

• June 18 -- The Bedrock Boys (polka)
• June 25 -- Jack Civietto (Sinatra)
• July 2 -- Ramblers (variety)
• July 9 -- Ghost Riders (country)
• July 16 -- Bluesway Jam (blues)
• July 23 -- Red Creek (rock)
• July 30 -- Stone Row (Celtic rock)
• Aug. 6 -- OHMS Band (rock)
• Aug. 13 -- The Formula (Italian)
• Aug. 20 -- Phoenix (country)
• Aug. 27 -- John Cole Blues Band (blues)

A caller reports seeing smoke in the area of Elm Street in the Village of Le Roy.

Le Roy Fire is being dispatched to investigate.

A chief on scene reports it's a small controlled burn that's spreading into some brush.

UPDATE 4:11 p.m.: Fire's out. Crew picking up hoses.

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Keith J. Lyman, 37, of 47 Clark St., Brockport, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Lyman is accused of contacting a City Court employee by telephone and threatening that person. He was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Keith Joseph Lyman, 37, of 41 High St., Brockport, is charged with harassment, 2nd.  Lyman is accused of kicking a corrections officer while being booked on another charge.

Duffy Starks, 17, of 20 N. Spruce St., Batavia, was arrested for alleged failure to comply with the conditions of his release on a previous harassment and unlawful imprisonment charges. Starks was jailed on $10,000 bail.

Nicole M. Dellapenna, 23, of 6120 Byron-Elba Road, Byron, is charged with disorderly conduct. Dellapenna is accused of repeatedly yelling obscenities outside Billy Goat's bar on West Main Street. She was arrested at 12:48 a.m., Sunday.

LaToya D. Jackson, 24, of 4036 W. Main St., Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Jackson is accused of yelling obscenities while on State Street. She was arrested at 9:50 p.m., Friday.

Kelly A. Sparks, 27, of 235 Orland Road, Rochester, is charged with DWI and refusal to take breath test. Sparks was stopped at 2:45 a.m., Monday, by Le Roy PD Officer Robert Tygart for alleged failure to give half of the roadway and alleged failure to stop for a stop sign.

Michael J. Tobias, 19, of 131 State St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Tobias is accused of shoplifting at Tops Market.

Markeda D. Starks, 19, of 5 Wood St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Starks is accused of approaching a person whom she was ordered to stay away from.

Jonathan Chad Sisk, 37, of Chili-Riga Center Road, Churchville, is accused of petit larceny. Sisk is accused of taking a BB gun from Walmart without paying for it.

A 16-year-old Batavia boy is charged with trespass. The youth is accused of entering a building on West Main Road, Town of Batavia, without permission of the owner.

Jose Juan Santiago Burgos, 21, of Telephone Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal mischief. Santiago Burgos is accused of breaking the window of a tractor on Bethany Center Road.

Carly A. Herzog, 29, of 25 Morven Road, Rochester, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and having a suspended registration. Herzog was stopped at 3:14 a.m., Saturday, on Church Street in Le Roy by Sgt. Michael J. Hare.

Please take a moment out of your busy day to remember those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy.  Remember not only those who fought and died in combat, but those who returned home and are now gone.

It is bittersweet to walk through the cemetery and see the brass markers telling us what branch and time of service .  One can imagine them gathering, row after row, near where my dad is buried.  Each year more join the ranks of WW2 veterans who are now at parade rest.  God bless them all.

Over the last several months, I've been spending some of my free time exploring Batavia. Not just walking along the side of the road, but finding trails and paths that are relatively untraveled and unknown for the most part. As of late, my exploring and roots in technology have lead me to the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project.

My latest cellphone features a built-in GPS radio and a 5MP camera. Earlier today (yesterday), I went out and mapped part of an abandoned railroad track that was previously owned by Conrail for the OSM project. The tracks were removed long ago and if it weren't for still being listed as part of the Conrail railroad on several mapping services, there would be no way to know otherwise. Eventually, the trail intersects with the Conrail tracks that are still presently used (the tracks that go under part of Rt. 5, intersect with Seven Springs Road/Rt. 63, etc).

While I was out, I took (geotagged) pictures. I've chucked them all into a Picasa album ingeniously labeled "Batavia". Do keep in mind that this isn't the first time I've been out to this location. Most of the pictures in the album were taken in the same general area and the geotags will reflect this. When looking at an album/picture, Picasa shows a terrain view map in the bottom-right corner of the page with a mark point showing the GPS location(s) of the picture(s) being looked at. 

Some of the better pictures are shown after the jump.

Multiple grass fires were reported late this afternoon in the wooded area between the lake at Dewitt Park and Western New York Concrete, 638 E. Main St., Batavia.

The fires were spotted nearly simultaneously by a passerby and a State Trooper.

Town of Batavia Supervisor Greg Post was called to the scene by the passerby and Post said he counted at least 12 separate hot spots.

Officials suspect the fires were set intentionally. 

There was also a series of small fires near the railroad tracks in the area of Buell Street and Webster Avenue yesterday afternoon, which may also have been intentionally set.

The initial call for today's fire came in around 5:35 p.m. The largest of the first was contained some time after 6 p.m.

Three companies of city firefighters and Town of Batavia Fire were called to the scene.

(The Batavian's Initial Report)

More pictures after the jump:

A car is reportedly on fire in a field, well off the road, near Judge Road in Alabama.

A dispatcher reports, "nobody is around," and adds, "It appears to be a File 1." (anybody know what that means?)

Alabama Fire is responding.

UPDATE 7:41 p.m.: A chief in the area reports, "Nothing showing." Alabama vounteers are checking the area.

UPDATE 7:49 p.m.: The car has been located off Klossen Road.

A large grass fire has been reported behind Western New York Concrete at 638 E. Main St., Batavia.

A State Trooper on scene says there are several small grass fires. "It was definitely started by somebody," he said.

City fire is responding, as well as city police.

UPDATE: 5:45 p.m. (Billie): The Second Platoon is handling the fire now. The First and Third platoons are requested to stand in at the main fire hall. It is reported that fire has spread eastward, nearing the sand wash.

UPDATE 5:53 p.m. (Billie): Now declaring a general alarm fire. Requesting a Town of Batavia grass/brush fire truck to the scene.

UPDATE 6:03 p.m. (Howard): The fire is now along the back of DeWitt Park. Flames are up to five-feet high. It is reported that at least 12 different fires were most likely intentionally set.

UPDATE 6:06 p.m. (Billie): Fire crews from the Town of Batavia are asked to stand-by at the town's fire headquarters.

UPDATE 6:55 p.m. (Howard): Left the fire scene about 6:30. Fire crews were checking for hot spots. Pictures to come in a separate post shortly.

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Yesterday, we bought a birdbath at Pudgie's, and it's already a big hit with the neighborhood birds. I think the one on the right is saying, "Hey, quit hogging up the bath! Can't you see there are others waiting?"

An 18-year-old man from Darien was riding a motorcycle in Wyoming County about 9:30 a.m., Saturday, when he may have swerved to avoid a deer and lost control of his bike.

Kyle Walker's bike hit the deer and then struck a utility pole.

Emergency responders found him unresponsive when they arrived on scene.

(via Buffalo News)

The Batavian correspondent Daniel Crofts’ new book, “The Myth of Autism: Autism as a Story of our Time” actually started out as a school project before its recent publication.

“Because it was a master’s thesis, there was a set timeline that forced me to really buckle down on it,” Crofts says. “That doesn’t mean I had to rush it or anything — I had a lot of time to focus on the project and to write it with care, and I’m very satisfied with the end result.”

Written over a seven-month period, the book, according to Crofts, examines autism as an important part of the history and development of modern society.

“If we want to understand autism, we can’t look at it in isolation,” he says. “We have to try to look at it in relation to modern Western culture as a whole.

Phenomenology served as Crofts’s main inspiration for the book. It is a field of philosophy (combined with psychology and the arts/humanities) that looks at given conditions in relation to living experience rather than scientific theories.

“I’ve found myself having a lot of compassion for autistic children and their families and wanting to help them in some way,” Crofts says. “The thing is, that help normally comes from a scientific angle, but I’ve always been much more humanities-oriented.

"When I first started reading on the subject [of phenomenology], I got to thinking how prominent autism is in our time and how this type of psychology could easily be applied to it.”

Crofts believes that his book does more to offer suggestions for how society can interact with the humanity of autistic individuals, rather than find a cure for them.

“As far as the message goes, we should make an effort to see autism as a phenomenon that is trying to tell us something about ourselves as individuals and as a culture,” he says.

“Instead of focusing on trying to ‘fix’ autistic children or objectifying them as mere subjects for study, we as a society should engage with them in a way that is mutually beneficial and transformative.

"My hope is that parents, teachers, therapists, and other professionals are inspired by the understanding of autism that I try to offer.”

“The Myth of Autism: Autism as a Story of our Time” can be ordered on Amazon through this link:

<http://www.amazon.com/Myth-Autism-Daniel-Crofts/dp/3838357256/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273690117&sr=1-4>

I never heard of a giant hogweed until one day a couple of years ago  I went for a walk in Corbett's Glen in Rochester.

There was this big leafy plant surrounded by yellow police caution tape and a hand-made sign explaining the dangers of hogweed.

It produces a sap that burns like acid. You don't want to get exposed to it.

The Democrat & Chronicle has a story today about a DEC eradication program that is running out of funding.  This year and next its running on federal stimulus money, but after that, local property owners will be on their own for learning how to properly remove the plant.

The info graphic at the end of the story is a map that includes Genesee County.  A similar, wider-area graphic, is on the DEC site, with a DEC article about hogweed. The maps show two areas of heavy infestation -- more than 400 plants -- in Genesee County. One is roughly in the Bethany area and the other in the Corfu/Darien area. There are another four sites with as many as 400 plants, and four sites being monitored.

And those are only the identified infestation areas. The DEC believes there are many more unidentified locations in the state.

From the DEC site, "Its sap, in combination with moisture and sunlight, can cause severe skin and eye irritation, painful blistering, permanent scarring and blindness. Contact between the skin and the sap of this plant occurs either through brushing against the bristles on the stem or breaking the stem or leaves."

As for plant distribution, "Giant hogweed grows in wet areas along streams and rivers, on waste ground, near houses, in vacant lots, and along railways and roads. It prefers moist soil and can quickly dominate ravines and stream banks."

For the past two days, young ball players from all over Western New York converged on the ball fields at MacArthur Park for the annual Michael Napoleone Memorial Baseball Tournament.

The tournament is named after a Batavia boy who succumbed to a form of leukemia and raises funds for a foundation in his name that assists families of children with cancer.

Ten teams in the 9-10 year old range and 10 teams in the 11-12 year old range competed. There was also a tournament for T-ball-age players.

More pictures after the jump:

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Following "an explosion," a fully involved vehicle fire is reported at Route 77 and the Thruway entrance.

The vehicle is off the roadway. It appears to be an ATV.

"I see black smoke from Indian Falls Road," says a firefighter.

Indian Falls and Pembroke fire departments are responding.

Overheard on the scanner:

"Clear CAD, no report, blotter item only. They were arguing over who gets to ride shotgun in the car."

Dispatch: "The important things in life."

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Margarita's Mexican Restaurant, 15 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: When you're looking for an authentic Mexican meal, Margarita's is the place to go. The food and atmosphere are perfect and the service is always outstanding. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Matty's Pizzeria, 4152 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Matty's is another Batavia favorite for pizza and wings. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Settler's Restaurant, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Settler's has a 25-year history of serving great, affordable breakfasts,lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Kravings, Valu Plaza, W. Main Street, Batavia, NY: Kraving's offers soups, salads and sandwiches, fresh and flavorful; Monday through Saturday. We have $10 gift certificates for $5.

T.F. Brown's, at 214 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: T.F.Brown's is a great place for a good meal, good friends and to catch up on what's going on in the sports world. "If it happens in sports, it happens at Brown's." We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $20 gift card for $10.

NOTE: If you've never bought Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

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