City crews were on State Street late this morning dealing with dirt and an old stump where a tree once stood.

The tree was among 30 dead or dying trees removed from around the city over the winter.

More than 400 middle-school students were at Genesee Community College this morning for the 2011 Genesee County Youth Conference.

Students heard a keynote speech by bullying expert Michael Nerney (pictured below during a workshop later in the morning with teachers) called "Taking the Bully by the Horns."

Then they broke into a series of workshops lasting less than an hour each in three consecutive sessions. The workshops included "Hmmm ... is this the right decision?", "Energy Smart Choices," "Who Wants to Make a Good First Impression?", "Building Your Potential," "Nutritional Jeopardy" and yoga.

Above, Joni Yaskulski leads a class through a yoga session.

Nerney's talk focused on adolescent brain development and the negative effects of bullying on development. The message was geared to the concept of changing social norms among middle-school students so that everyone, especially bystanders, understand that bullying is not acceptable nor is it harmless.

Students from Holy Family, Oakfield-Alabama, Batavia, Elba, Alexander, St. Joe's, Byron-Bergen, Le Roy and Pavilion participated in the program.

The conference was organized and sponsored by Genesee Youth In Action, 4-H, NYS Office of Children and Family Services, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Genesee County Stop-DWI.

We've added a new section to the site: "Milestones."

It's a place were you can post those important events in your life or the lives of friends and relatives, such as births, engagements, weddings, graduations, dean's list, military service, promotions, etc.

To post to "Milestones" you must be registered and logged in. Once logged in, go to the "Create Content" link and then click on "Blog Entry." Tag your post "milestones" and once it's saved it will automatically show up in that section.

A tractor is reportedly on fire at a farm in the area of 10423 East Road, Bethany.

The tractor is near a structure.

Bethany Fire Department being dispatched.

UPDATE 1:39 p.m.: Pavilion fire is being dispatched, along with Wyoming fire for mutual aid.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: The structure is smaller and not yet involved in the blaze.

UPDATE 2:12 p.m.: Fire is out.

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A dozen city school students in second through fifth grade met at Jackson School today for a spelling bee to determine the top speller at each grade level.

Students represented Jackson, John Kennedy and Robert Morris.

Pictured here are fourth graders Jonathan Slezak (John Kennedy), Ellen Fulton (Robert Morris) and Caitline Kingston (Jackson).

Fulton won the fourth-grade round.

Also winning today were Brandon Bartz, second grade, John Kennedy; Madeline Taggart, third grade, John Kennedy; and, Carli Reynolds, fifth grade, Jackson.

About 20 local business owners and managers attended a talk by Kevin Manne at T.F. Brown's this morning on social media, sponsored by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

Manne, new media specialist for Genesee Community College spoke about how digital media is empowering customers, how that power can be harnessed to benefit a business and how to effectively promote a business on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and YouTube.

Previously: College hires new media specialist, sees rapid online growth

It would be a good idea, according to County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens, to install cameras to monitor the gas pumps used to fill up county vehicles.

In some counties employees have been caught stealing gas. Hens didn't come right out and say any Genesee County personnel are stealing gas, but he would like to have a system that would much such theft easier to prove.

"The only way to catch somebody now is to compare like vehicle to like vehicle," Hens said. "If one pickup truck is getting 15 miles to the gallon and another is getting only nine, then I'm going to say 'something is not right here,' but you're still dealing with somebody with only circumstantial numbers."

A camera would allow supervisors to check tapes (digitally stored) and see if employees are bringing in personal vehicles at the same time they fuel county vehicles, or filling up gas cans.

Legislators Ray Cianfrini and Bob Baush balked at the $19,000 price tag for the video surveillance system during the Public Service meeting Monday. They wondered if fewer cameras could be used, or if surveillance was necessary at all.

"Is it worth paying $19,000 to save $40 in gas?" Cianfrini asked.

Besides monitoring the pumps, the proposed system can also monitor the parts garage and could eventually be expanded to monitor nearby DeWitt Park.

Hens said that as much as $2,000 annually from potentially pilfered gas could be saved and the camera system -- which needs to be infrared to read license plates at night -- has a 10-year life expectancy.

But it isn't all about how much might be stolen, which is a hard number to pin down with the current system, Hens said.

"On principle, I don’t know if you want an employee who is stealing $40 of gas," Hens said. "I think you would rather catch those people."

Currently, fueling county vehicles involves a two-card process -- one card for the employee and one card for the vehicle.

As the meeting progressed, Tim Yaeger, director of Emergency Services, walked in. He and Undersheriff Bill Sheron spoke briefly and then Yaeger piped up, saying there might be Homeland Security grants available for the camera system.

Since the fuel yard is essential to critical services in an emergency, it needs to be protected, Yaeger said.

The motion to buy the system was tabled until Yaeger could research the availability of grants.

Local businesses can now use The Batavian to help promote their social media marketing efforts.

Glance down the right side rail of local ads and you'll find two boxes, one with links to the Facebook pages of local businesses and another to promote the Twitter feeds of local businesses.

Social media is becoming a powerful tool for small businesses to connect with customers and one of our primary goals at The Batavian is to help local businesses use the Internet intelligently.

Besides offering the best online advertising program in the region, working with local businesses in their social media efforts helps us further that goal.

If your business already has a presence on Facebook or Twitter, call Howard Owens at 260-6970 to find out how to get a link added to our Facebook and Twitter boxes. And if you haven't put your business on Facebook or Twitter yet, call us and we'll help you get started. We can even manage your social media efforts for your business.

The Genesee Justice Foundation can now accept your donations.

The foundation was formed in the wake of the County Legislature nearly shuttering the pioneering restorative justice program when writing the 2010-11 county budget.

Only after then-director Ed Minardo resigned and staff agreed to cut back its hours was the program saved, but with the intent of creating a nonprofit fundraising arm.

The cuts saved $100,000, and that's how much the foundation must raise in 2011 to keep Genesee Justice going and restore staffing levels.

Some of that revenue may come from a grant the county's Job Development Bureau is applying for this week.

Both the Genesee Justice Foundation and the Child Advocacy Foundation have 501(c)3 (nonprofit) status pending, but until granted, the American Baptist Churches of Genesee County have agreed to accept donations on the behalf of the Genesee Justice Foundation.

Tiffany Szymanek, assistant director of Genesee Justice, delivered a report on the status of Genesee Justice on Monday afternoon to the legislature's Public Service Committee.

Szymanek said the agency is managing to do more with less, however.

Genesee Justice's case load is up significantly over a year ago.

Currently, Genesee Justice has 183 people in its offender programs, compared to 127 at this time last year, and 91 people, compared to 54 a year ago, are doing community service.

"It's harder than it was last year, but we're keeping up," Szymanek said.

In effort to save money, GJ renegotiated its lease, knocking down its rent on the former Sheriff's Office on West Main Street from $1,500 per month to $1,200 per month. (See clarification below)

Most of that savings came because GJ agreed to take over its own lawn maintenance and snow removal.

The Batavia Kiwanis have adopted Genesee Justice as its annual project, and besides raising funds for GJ, the club has volunteered to help with lawn service and snow removal.

"We also have community service workers," Szymanek said.

The new foundation is being headed by Jane Schmider, president, and Mike Mohun, vice president.

As for the job development grant, that money would be used to fund a program to provide job training to young offenders (18-24). While the grant would come through the county's Job Development Bureau, GJ would administer the program. The grant could restore most of the staff's hours.

After Minardo resigned, a part-time position with Genesee Justice became vacant and Minardo took on the DWI conditional release tasks.

Szymanek said the foundation is eager for donations either from individuals or corporations. She said she will also be working on additional grant applications.

If the foundation is successful in fundraising, the annual revenue would be allocated to the county to cover Genesee Justice expenses and the legislature would decide how to budget the department.

Legislator Bob Radley asked Szymanek to provide a document showing revenue benchmarks and information on fundraising efforts.

Mary Pat Hancock, chair of the legislature, wondered how far along the fundraising effort was going.

"On paper, I understand the intent is to raise $100,000, but that's not the same as raising $100,000," Hancock said.

Szymanek said she will start providing a progress report on fundraising.

There will be a fundraiser for the Child Advocacy Foundation March 24 at Tully's.

CLARIFICATIONS: The lease issue and snow removal/lawn refers only to the Child Advocacy Center at 108 Bank St.  Also, both Kiwansis and American Baptist boards still need to vote to approve their organizations' participation in supporting Genesee Justice.

Right on schedule, the migratory gulls that have plagued downtown buildings the past few years -- most notably the former Latina's location on Ellicott Street -- are returning.

This March, they're getting a slightly different reception.

The one-time Montgomery Ward store has a new owner, V J Gautieri Constructors, Inc., and CEO Vito Gautieri is determined both to get new tenants in the building and keep the gulls away.

"The key is to keep them from nesting," Gautieri said. "Once they nest, we can't touch them."

To that end, employees of Gautieri's were recently on the roof installing streamers and decoy owls (mean-looking ones at that).

Today, the gulls circled the building and cried their perpetually angry sounding cry, but none were landing on the roof.

Friday, Don Burkel, executive director of the Business Improvement District, sent a message to BID members asking them to deal with any developing gull problems promptly.

As the gulls return downtown we should be prepared to resolve any problems that may develop. If they are beginning to nest or create a problem with your property do not hesitate to contact us. We can put in touch with the Wildlife Services who professionalyl deal with these issues promptly.

As for the building on Jackson, Gautieri said he is weeks away from signing at least one new tenant for the building, and possibly two. He said he's had interest in the building from two or three grocery store operators and discount retailers. One particular retailer and one grocery store would be a particularly good fit as neighbors in the building, he said.

"They would be a draw for each other," Gautieri said.

Gautieri recently closed his purchase of the building from Tom Lewin's LKLWL Properties. Lewin made regional headlines late last summer as the city took steps to condemn the building and press code violations charges against the Buffalo-area resident.

Gautieri said it's in his best interest to keep the property clean and gull free, especially if he hopes to attract a grocery store to the location.

The second floor, Gautieri said, will also be available for office space or apartments. The plans are still being drawn up but, in either case, Gautieri said he is planning to install an elevator to help draw tenants to the location.

Gautieri was the contractor who built the structure and he said because of a high water table under the building, it was too expensive to put in a basement, so the second floor was originally designed as warehouse space with the ability to hold a150 lbs.-per-square-foot load.

Here's a news release from Republican candidate Jane Corwin.

WILLIAMSVILLE – Jane Corwin, businesswoman and unanimously endorsed Republican candidate for New York’s 26th Congressional District, announced today that she has received the endorsement of the New York State Independence Party.

Corwin received the unanimous endorsement after a meeting held by the Independence Party on Saturday, March 12.

“I appreciate the support shown by the New York State Independence Party and thank them for their endorsement,” Corwin said. “The support I’ve been shown by so many has been truly humbling.

"I’ve heard the message from Western New Yorkers loud and clear – they want Washington to cut spending and stop the borrow-and-spend policies from the last few years, and they want those elected to serve the people to focus on strengthening the economy to create jobs.

"If honored to be Western New York’s next representative in Congress, Western New Yorkers can count on me to represent their values and fight for them in Washington.”

By receiving the endorsement this weekend, Corwin’s name will now appear on two ballot lines when the special election for New York's 26th District is held on Tuesday, May 24.

A patient apparently suffered a cut hand and bump on the head in a car-tractor trailer accident on Route 490 on or near the county line by the Bovee Road overpass.

Le Roy Fire Department is dispatched.

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Alabama Fire is responding to 2082 Lewiston Road for a flooded basement and possibly related gas leak.

Charges may be pending following a one-car accident at 10:38 p.m. Saturday, on North Street Road, Le Roy.

The driver has been identified as Philip M. Niccloy, 24, of 75 Summit St., Le Roy.

According to initial reports, the car Niccloy was allegedly driving, was found unoccupied at the accident scene and several law enforcement officers were involved in a search for the driver.

The Sheriff's Office accident report does not include information on how Niccloy was identified as the driver nor how he was found, though on Saturday night, the owner of the vehicle, also a Summit Street resident, said she wanted charges pressed against the driver.

The vehicle involved was a 2010 GMC pickup.

The truck hit a tree at the bend of the road in the area of 8471 North Street Road. The driver-side airbag was deployed.

The accident is being investigated by Deputy Matthew Butler wrote on his report that the investigation is ongoing and there are "charges pending."

Lorrie B. Fischer, 32, of 128 W. State St., Albion, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, three counts of aggravated DWI (children in the vehicle), criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, moving from lane unsafely, and improper or unsafe turn. At 5:19 p.m., Sunday, Fischer was reportedly observed driving in an erratic manner by an off-duty Batavia police officer. Fischer was stopped by Officer Chris Davis. There were children ages 11, 12 and 14 in the car.

Robert L. Williams Jr., 20, and Shante R. Williams, 27, and Sarah L. Marcello, 18, all of Batavia, are all charged with harassment, 2nd. Officers Marc Lawrence and Chris Camp investigated an alleged incident at 4:45 p.m., Saturday, in the area of 112 State St., Batavia. Robert Williams accused Marcello of hitting him. Marcello accused Shante Williams and Robert Williams of hitting her. All three were issued appearance tickets for Batavia City Court on March 15.

Tyler Alan Cole, 18, of Alley Road, Darien, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Cole is accused of hosting a party where people under 21 were allowed to consume alcohol. The party was investigated at 5:06 a.m., Sunday.

Michael Roberrt Turturro, 32, of Jeffery Drive, Depew, was arrested on a family court warrant and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation and no seat belt. Turturro was stopped by Deputy Chris Parker on Alleghany Road in Alabama.

Billy Joe Budziszewski, 19, of Alleghany Road, Corfu, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Budziszewski allegedly threated another person during a phone call.

Shane I. Crosby, 34, of 62989 W. Main St., Byron, is charged with a felony count of DWI, aggravated DWI, speeding and unlicensed operation. Crosby was stopped at 3:45 a.m., Sunday, on West Main Street, Batavia, by officer Kevin DeFelice.

Thomas M. Pillo, of 8991 Alexander Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, no tail lamps. Pillo was stopped at 11:57 p.m., Friday, by Det. Richard Schauf on School Street, Batavia.

Tiffany J. Howard, 20, of 210 S. Swan St., Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Howard is accused of unlawfully entering an apartment on West Main Street at 8:42 p.m., Saturday, and punching a person in the face.

Timothy K. Schiffmaker, 20, of 19 Hyde Park, Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, and criminal mischief, 3rd. Schiffmaker is accused of breaking into a house in the city at 6:15 a.m., Saturday, damaging a door in the process. Schiffamker was confronted and held by the resident until police arrived.

Lauren E. Charache, 31, of 3 East Ave., Batavia, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 2nd. Charache was issued a citation for unlicensed operation following a traffic accident in the city on Sept. 3. Charache was taken into custody by Trooper Bentley outside of the city and turned over to city police. She was jailed on $500 bail.

Gary R. Sitarski, 48, of Pembroke, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI. Sitarski was stopped by State Police at 10:07 p.m., Saturday, on Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia.

Michelle L. Cramer, 26, of Canton, Ohio, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Cramer is accused of having physical contact with another person. The alleged incident took place in Byron on March 4. Cramer was arrested by State Police. No further details released.

Michael A. Cintron, 47, of Lackawanna, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Cintron was stopped at 11:50 a.m., Friday, by State Police on Route 77, Pembroke.

Sunday morning, four teams from Batavia's Adult Hockey League met in two playoff games.

The Beachy Cabinet Maker "Wild" and The Genesee Orthopaedic "Blues" won their games and will now face each other for the league championship this Sunday.

Below are details of the games provided by Charles Mahler.

7 a.m.: The Beachy Cabinet Maker "Wild" vs. The Kelly Holland Inn "Stars." The Wild defeats the Stars 9-3 with the winner advancing to the championship game.

Scoring for the Wild: Todd Meier 3 goals and Rich Baskin 3 goals (w/ the game winner), Shawn Beachy, Tom Antinore and Ryan Diflippo each 1 goal. Assists: Rich Pearson with 2, while 1 each to Todd Meier, Tom Antinore, Shawn Beachy and Ryan Diflippo. Scott Fauth was in net facing 28 shots

Scoring for the Stars: Adam Luckenbach, Nick Martell and TJ Peca.     Assists: Nick Busch with 3, TJ Peca, Rick Piazza and Nick Martell with 1 each. John Grande was in net facing 27 shots

9 a.m.: The Genesee Orthopaedic "Blues" vs. The Batavia Legal Printing "Sharks." The Blues defeats the Sharks 6-3 advancing to the championship game.

Scoring for the Blues: Shawnee Oberholtzer with 2, Bill Kusmierski, Cory Stearns, Dave Holtz and Joe Mahler each having 1 goal with Mahler's being the game winner. Assists: Brian Schrader with 2, Greg Ames, Kevin Hamilton and Joe Mahler with 1 each. Jason Molino faced 24 shots in the win.

Scoring for the Sharks: Dan Reuter had a natural hat trick with 3 goals and the only assist going to Andy Pfalzer. Bill Hertel faced 25 shots in net.

Sunday March 20th at 7:30 a.m. will be the "Consolation Game" with the Sharks going against the Stars. At 9 a.m. the "Championship Game" with the Blues taking on the Wild.

Then on Sunday March 27 at 8 a.m. the "B-Line" All Star Game. Followed at 9:30 a.m. by the "A-Line" All-Star Game.

There are another 30 pictures, plus these, on our photo sales site. Click here.

A caller reports black smoke coming from a house at 101 North St., Batavia.

The caller says nobody answers the door, but dogs can be heard barking inside.

City Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 3:31 p.m.: A Mercy medic is first on scene and reports black smoke coming from a side vent. No flames showing. Batavia police are asking dispatch for contact information for the owner.

UPDATE 3:54 p.m.: No fire. Pellet stove. The type of fuel used in this case creates the black smoke. City fire back in service.

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Dispatch has received multiple calls about a transformer arcing and sparking at 5158 East Main St. Road in the area of the Gravel Pit.

Town of Batavia Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 12:21 p.m.: The arcing and sparking appears to be coming from a power line in front of the power plant substation, not a transformer, according to an official on scene. "That's a recurring problem," says another. National Grid has been notified, but no ETA is given. There will need to be portable stop signs placed at intersections on the east end of town because, apparently, the power line problem is affecting traffic lights. For example, the intersection at East Main Street and Clinton is completely out, not even blinking.

UPDATE 12:43 p.m.: Approximately 2,100 customers are without power. National Grid is en route to fix the outage problem.

UPDATE 1 p.m.: A National Grid supervisor in on scene.

UPDATE 1:04 p.m.: The supervisor estimates power will be restored in about one hour.

UPDATE 1:07 p.m.: Town of Batavia fire crew is returning to quarters. Flares will be placed at Route 33 and Seven Springs Road, which is an intersection without power. Elsewhere portable stop signs were placed at intersections on the east end of town by county highway personnel.

UPDATE 1:23 p.m.: Dispatch has received a number of calls saying power is back on now.