Extra character at beginning of both standard out and file about wintee HOT 4 OPEN

Actually, the character is caused by using the CLS command in the batch file.

standard out is not cleared, and the character is shown instead.

[deleted comment]

Here's the batch files I use to reproduce this behavior, along with the 
generated
text file and a screenshot of my CMD window.

I'm using Windows XP Professional SP3.

Is there any way to not interfere with the CLS command?  I really need to clear 
the console screen at times.  Also is there any way to prevent seeing that 
weird character?

I was very excited about using this tool until I realized it doesnt handle CLS 
the way one would expect.  If you know of another command line tool for Windows 
that can handle CLS, please let me know.

Thanks!