At least four vehicles were broken into overnight in the area of 358 Bloomingdale Road in Alabama, according to scanner traffic. Sheriff's investigators are on scene. The location is between Shanks and Tesnow roads.
Press release:
The Batavia Muckdogs have announced their manager and coaching staff for the 2013 season. This year’s squad will be led by Manager Angel Espada, Pitching Coach Brendan Sagara and Hitting Coach Rich Arena.
The 2013 campaign marks Espada’s second year as the manager for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate, first as manager of the Batavia Muckdogs. Espada spent the past season as the manager of the Jamestown Jammers and the year prior as the hitting coach for the Jammers. Prior to his time with Jamestown, he spent two years working as the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Marlins.
Espada was a 42nd-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 1994 First-Year Player Draft. In addition to the Braves, he also played in the Mets and Yankees systems. His playing career spanned 14 years and he finished with a .305 career batting average over 940 games played.
Sagara begins his second season as pitching coach for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate. Sagara has served as a pitching coach for 11 seasons with various teams. He broke into the coaching profession with the Dubois County Dragons of the Frontier League in 2001 as the club’s pitching coach. He has also worked for the Braves as a part-time scout (2010-11) and the Mets as an associate scout (2006-09). In 2007, he was named Coach of the Year in the Frontier League, while coaching the top pitching staff in Windy City. He and his wife, Michelle, reside in Wahiawa, Hawaii.
Arena returns for his second season as hitting coach for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate. He spent the previous two years as the director of scouting for Team One Management in Tampa, Fla. Prior to his time at Team One Management, Arena was the head coach at his alma mater, Tampa Catholic High School (Fla.), from 2007-09. He was recognized as the 3A Coach of the Year in 2008 and compiled a 53-18 record at Tampa Catholic HS. He spent the previous 10 years with the New York Yankees as scout and coach in the Minor League system. He and his wife, Joselle, have five children and reside in Tampa.
Bibbo will serve as the trainer for the 2013 season, his first year with the Marlins’ organization. Bibbo previously was the interim head athletic trainer at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. Prior to that, he spent four years (August 2007-September ‘10, September 2011-June ‘12) as the assistant athletic trainer at Malvern Preparatory School. He spent seven months (February-August 2011) as the rehabilitation intern with the Philadelphia Phillies. Bibbo received his Master of Science in Rehabilitation Science from California University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and his bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. in 2007. He resides in West Chester, Pa. with his wife, Elizabeth, and stepson, Andrew (12).
Tim Hens, who owns property neighboring the Wiss Hotel building and is an engineer and history buff, sent along this photo of the "Wiss House" circa 1900, when it was two stories with a wood exterior.
He notes it was a wood-framed building.
Is it possible that the three-story structure there now is the same two-story building with a third-story addition? Most of the frame structures built in the early 1800s were post-and-beam construction with wood siding. Very few remain in our area. It would have been difficult to add a third floor to a post-and-beam constructed building. Was there ever any history of a fire? Possibly they rebuilt on the same site?
Building permits were not required way back when, so the historical record is rather incomplete.
Hens also notes that the facade in the postcard pictures we ran the other day make it look like the facade is stacked stone.
Here's one of those postcards:
Of course, we all know the current facade is red brick.
Hens said it makes no sense to put brick in front of stacked stone and it isn't likely somebody would have removed the stacked stone to put up brick.
Thinking about this, I remembered something I read in the Lynne Belluscio article from 2005.
Hepps added the third story to the old two-story landmark and capped it off with a flat roof. He covered the exterior with metal siding.
In 1927 he replaced the siding with 'tapestry brick" veneer. He added the small one-story store to the east ...
So the Hepps-owned building we see above was probably sided with tin that was pressed to look like stacked stone.
I asked Hens if that was possbile and he said yes, but said such a facade in that era wouldn't not have weathered well.
As for adding the third floor to the wood-framed structure, compare window and door placement. The interesting thing to note is how the east end of the building isn't level with the west end in both pictures.
However, Hens said a new building, given the slant of Main Street, could have been built the same way.
Personally, it seems to me unlikely that the building of 1900 would be so similar to the building of the 1920s if they were different buildings.
So here's something else to debate: Is the current Wiss the same building as the structure originally built at that location in 1802 (the construction date in an article Hens shared).
On another note, a caller this morning raised the issue that I haven't reported that the Le Roy, NY, LLC, isn't in a position to take immediate ownership of the building even if the village board approved the sale today.
That hasn't been an issue, at least in public statements, for the three trustees blocking the sale, but it's also true.
I confirmed with Bob Fussell this morning that there is a contingency in the LLC's offer that would give the group four months to raise funds sufficient to move forward with the project.
Fussell said he believes people have made sufficient verbal commitments to ensure the funds would be raised well within the time frame, but until the funds are committed, the LLC won't take title to the building.
Charlotte connected on five three-pointers as a part of a 15-2 run to start the fourth quarter to put away Batavia on their senior night, 72-54.
The Lakesiders got off to a hot start as Kievonn Banks scored 14 of his game-high 37 points in the first quarter and led 21-15.
In the second quarter, Batavia’s own star took over as Justin Washington scored 15 points in the frame to help give the Blue Devils a one-point halftime lead.
Washington continued to control the game after the intermission, until midway through the third quarter as he picked up his third personal foul on a coast-to-coast charge.
With the Blue Devils’ star on the bench, Charlotte would use their full-court pressure to regain the lead heading into the fourth, 48-46.
“We didn’t take care of the ball,” Washington said. “If we are going to make a run in sectionals, we are definitely going to have to take care of the ball.”
Banks would connect on a three to start the frame, and would strike seconds after a Rayqwaun Blocker steal of Jake Brasky led to another three from Demetrius Gettys.
Batavia halted the run after a timeout with a lay up, but Charlotte would hit three consecutive shots beyond the arc, two more coming from Gettys, to put the Blue Devils away.
In total, Charlotte (15-3) tallied 15 steals, 7 by Banks, on the night as Batavia never seemed to crack the Lakesiders’ full-court press.
Banks would add nine rebounds to go along with his 37 points and seven steals, while Gettys chipped in with 16 points for Charlotte.
Washington had a superb all-around night in defeat, finishing with 25 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Jamesson Etienne added 14 points and nine rebounds while Jalen Smith chipped in 11 points for Batavia (15-3).
The Blue Devils had already locked up the top seed in Class B1 prior to the game and will play host to the winner of the Midlakes/Waterloo game on Feb. 23.
PHOTOS By Howard Owens.
Top, Justin Washington scores on a lay up in the second quarter; Jalen Smith with a lay up in the third quarter; Batavia on defense.
To purchase a print of photos, click here, or click the link in the upper right of the slide show below.
Even Louis Buono thinks the Wiss Hotel building should be saved.
Buono owns the McDonald's franchise in the Village of Le Roy. Buono is concerned that tearing down the Wiss will hurt the character of the village and do nothing to bring more people downtown.
That outcome would hurt his business.
"I am the last person that wants empty storefronts, that’s for sure," Buono said. "I stare at them regularly and it is frustrating."
When speaking of the Le Roy, NY, LLC, Buono used the word "we" a lot and indicated he is planning to invest in restoration of the Wiss if the LLC can persuade at least one more village trustee to approve the sale of the building.
In all, five people who have never spoken up before on behalf of saving the Wiss spoke at the trustees' meeting Wednesday night.
Even Police Chief Chris Hayward, who never comments at village meetings about anything not directly related to the police department, had something to say.
Hayward doesn't favor apartments for the building -- there are enough apartments in Le Roy, he said -- but he doesn't understand why the LLC group isn't being given a chance to try and save the Wiss.
"When the mayor asked me back in March to stay on and not retire, part of our discussion was about what my motivations were for leaving and what would motivate me to stay," Hayward said. "One of the motivations I talked about for leaving was that in almost 30 years we’ve turned from a community that always worked together to get things done to a community that always looks for reason not to do things.
"Robbins Nest," he added, "we came up with reasons not to do it. The pool. We came up with reasons not to keep it open. I think we need to turn back into that community that looks for reasons to get these things done. ... I just think we’re coming up with reasons not to do something that might have a positive impact on the community."
Another downtown property owner, Bill Kettle, said he thinks tearing down the Wiss would hurt the value of his own investment.
Kettle owns the buildings at 10 and 12 Main St. He said he's put a lot of money into restoration of those buildings and considers them the bookend -- with the Wiss being the other bookend -- to Main Street.
"My focus and concern with the Wiss is maintaining the character of Le Roy," Kettle said. "I’m very concerned about the Wiss being the fuse that will ignite a larger demolition of Main Street."
Mayor Greg Rogers, later in the meeting, pretty much confirmed what a lot of preservationists fear -- that once the Wiss goes, other buildings will be on the chopping block.
The Wiss property by itself is not big enough to attract a developer for the kind of new commercial construction that attracts investors.
“I’m not going to blow sunshine up your Kool-Aid," Rogers said. "It’s going to take more than one or two. It would take that whole corner. That parcel over there isn’t big enough for basically anything by itself."
Keeping the character of the village is also what brought Chris and Chandy Kemp to Wednesday's meeting.
The professional couple -- he's a math teacher in Rochester, she's an attorney in Buffalo -- moved to Le Roy because they were charmed by the village atmosphere.
Chris Kemp said he and his wife had never heard of Le Roy before a real estate agent drove them into town, heading east into the village on Route 5.
"We came in under the train trestle, and before that it was like, ‘yeah, whatever. It’s like Lancaster. Woopie freakin’ do,' and we came under it and, no lie, it was like the sun came out, the flowers were swaying, people were walking hand-in-hand up some kind of main street, which you can’t get anyplace else," Kemp said.
The village sold itself immediately to the couple and one of the first things they did was visit the Wiss for wings and hockey while a biker gang was hanging out there.
Both Chris and Chandy said that they worry tearing down the Wiss will start exactly the kind of domino effect described by Kettle.
"I don’t want to live in Generica," Chandy said. "I could have built a McMansion in a suburb anywhere in America. I’ve been a lawyer for 20 years. I don’t have to live here, but I want to and this is why: It’s the character. It’s the village. We don’t want to be where there’s some major development on every corner."
Many, many young professionals want to live in communities that are true communities and have character and charm, Chris Kemp said.
"We’re the people you want to have here," Chris said. "We’re the people who pay your taxes. We keep the place running. We’re the people with a little money, a little ambition, a little drive and a little common sense."
Bob Fussell Jr., spoke out, too. Of course, he said, he agrees with his dad, who is heading up the LLC effort.
"I think you would make a big mistake to tear that down," Fussell said. "I don’t want to see a Tim Horton's or some commercialized garbage sitting on that corner. When I take my daughter on her bike down Main Street, I don’t want to take her by a Tim Horton's. I enjoy main street. I’ve lived here most of my life, and that’s just how I feel."
As the conversation became a little more free flowing, with some back-and-forth between citizens and board members, Chris Kemp and Louis Buono tried to draw out of the three trustees who oppose saving the Wiss just exactly what their thinking is.
Mike Tucci, Robert Taylor and Jim Bonacquisti, have all raised concerns about safety, the viability of saving the Wiss, and for Bonacquisti, the idea that the corner is "screaming out for retail."
Buono countered that once the LLC takes possession of the building, the safety issue is resolved. There is a contractor ready now to shore up the building and even install a fire wall, though it's questionable whether it's needed.
If safety was the issue for the three board members, he said, there would be a scaffolding and yellow tape around the building already.
Getting to the point of tearing down the building will take a lot longer than it would take the LLC to resolve the safety concerns, Buono said.
As for Bonacquisti's suggestion that the corner is "screaming out" for retail, well, Buono said, the LLC's plan includes retail on the first floor.
"It can't be safety," Buono said. "It can't be retail. The LLC takes care of both of those issues."
Kemp turned to asking trustees what they envision for the corner and Tucci said, "grass."
He said, "I see grass and picnic tables."
An idea Chris scoffed at, suggesting it wouldn't be used much with Trigon Park just down the street and Chandy noted a park there wouldn't generate tax revenue.
By the end of the meeting, neither Tucci nor Bonacquisti really answered the question of what their real objections are.
Tucci seemed to reject the idea that taking down the Wiss will lead to more buildings coming down.
"I’m not for demolishing Le Roy," Tucci said.
Taylor said he remains opposed to saving the Wiss because he doesn't believe it can be saved.
In a back and forth with Fussell Sr., Taylor admitted that he's previously said he's not an expert in construction and restoration. Fussell noted that all the experts who have looked at the building say it can be restored.
"It's just my personal opinion," Taylor said, "but I think it's the ugliest building I've ever seen."
Lisa Compton has been at every village meeting on the Wiss and supports the LLC, though she said she can't afford to invest. Just as Taylor hasn't been convinced by anything he's heard, nothing Taylor, Tucci and Bonacquisti have said changes her mind.
"I’m coming at it from a taxpayer," Compton said. "I just haven’t found a good enough reason to drop it. It makes good financial sense. I haven’t been persuaded, kind of like the other board members who are against it. I haven’t heard anything to persuade me yet that it's a bad idea."
Perhaps the most hopeful word for preservationists came at the end of the village board meeting.
Tucci said the idea of the LLC putting in office units upstairs instead of apartments appealed to him. A change in business plans could change his mind.
Taylor said he agreed with Tucci.
Every month, hundreds of people in Genesee County rely on free food programs to help them meet their nutritional needs, and the number of people needing assistance has only grown, according to local food bank officials.
Even as the need goes up, said Laura Sugarwala, nutrition resource manager for Foodlink, funding is in danger of being cut.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget cuts funding for the main source of revenue for these programs by 13 percent and puts the budget allocation into the Maternal Child Health and Nutrition Grant program.
The change would essentially end the 30-year-old Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP).
Agencies such as Foodlink would compete with other programs for a single pot of money. Also, the change would delay the ability of Foodlink and the organizations they serve to budget in advance of providing services, at least to the same degree they can now.
Foodlink helps channel HPNAP funding to four local agencies that feed the hungry -- Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, the Salvation Army, Steven's Table and City Church.
"I see a lot of hungry people, a lot of children this could potentially effect," said Lisa Whittmeyer, emergency service coordinator for Community Action.
Whittmeyer and Sugarwala hope that area residents will stop by the Community Action office at 5073 Clinton St. Road, Batavia, to sign a petition, sign the online petition at FoodlinkNY.org, or write to Assemblyman Steve Hawley and Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer and express support for retaining funding as is for HPNAP.
The proposed cuts would mean a cut in services and the amount of food available, both Whittmeyer and Sugarwala said.
Sugarwala said it will be much harder to provide properly nutritious food to clients of the local agencies if funding is cut.
"In my role as nutrition resource manager, I would have to make decisions, without funding, about what we wouldn't be able to carry in the way of nutritious products, items like low-grain and low-sodium products -- all the things that are important for health," Sugarwala said.
The people who rely on food bank programs are not necessarily the same people who get food stamps or receive other government assistance.
Those programs are means tested and sometimes people reach circumstances in their life where they simply don't have enough money for food, even though they don't qualify for other government assistance programs.
For any of the food banks, anybody who walks through the door and says they're hungry gets a meal.
"People in our service area come from a variety of backgrounds," Sugarwala said. "We don't know everything that's going on at home."
Foodlink, which receives $2 million in annual funding from HPNAP, serves a 10-county region in WNY. Four years ago, a survey found 125,000 people in that service area that don't always get enough to eat.
Since then, food banks have seen a 30-percent increase in the number of meals served. Foodlink is preparing another survey because officials suspect the number of people facing food emergencies regularly may have as much as doubled.
Press release:
A water main break on Vine Street north of North Street may require water service to be interrupted in that general area. This work may cause temporary periods of low or no water pressure or possible discolored water in the immediate area. Every effort will be made to keep disruptions to a minimum. Crews are on site to begin repairs.
UPDATE: Repairs have been completed and there was no disruption to service, according to Matt Worth.
A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at Route 19 and Selden Road in Le Roy. Traffic is being shut down on Route 19 at Parmalee and Randall / North Street roads. Mercy Flight is not available, if it is deemed needed. Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding and an ambulance from Bergen is requested for mutual aid.
UPDATE 6:59 p.m.: Medics are told to proceed in non-emergency mode.
UPDATE 7:03 p.m.: Bergen is told to go back in service.
UPDATE 7:22 p.m.: Shortly, northbound traffic will be allowed to proceed.
UPDATE 7:47 p.m.: One patient was taken by Le Roy to Strong Memorial Hospital.
UPDATE: Reader submitted photos:
Mike and Frank look for rusty gold every week, and Jeff Freeman always thought that looked like a fun way to make a living, so he thought he would give it a try.
Recently, he opened Freemans Gallery at 315 Ellicott St., Batavia, and filled the 4,000-square-foot space with an impressive variety of antiques and collectables.
"I always loved Pawn Stars and American Pickers, so I thought I’d try it out and here we are," Freeman said.
Freeman started picking and selling a year ago and even with the schooling Mike Wolfe provided on Pickers, the actual experience taught him a lot about what people want, what they'll buy and how to avoid getting stuck with seven fake Christmas trees and boxes of broken ornaments.
"We use the Internet quite a bit to find out how much things are valued at and we do a lot of online sales," Freeman said. "That’s how we learned what to pick and we learned what sells and what people are buying. We try to have a range of different stuff so there’s something for everybody."
Freeman's family owns a fabrication shop in Alden, and with times getting tighter, he started looking for an appropriate retail space for his store.
He liked Batavia because there was nothing else in the county that was quite what he had in mind for his store.
A lot of antique dealers make a mistake, he thinks, in pricing things for full retail, so his prices tend to be right for Batavia bargain hunters.
"If I buy something for $20 and it’s valued at $100, I’m not the kind of person who’s going to sit on it until I get $100," Freeman said. "I’ll take $40 and get my money and get out of it. I keep my prices low like that."
Freeman's sister helps with the store and they're both artists, so they've spent a lot of effort seeking out and buying paintings.
Some of his sister's work hangs on the walls along with other local artists. She's also painted some furniture to give old items an artistic flair, often suitable for a child's room.
Freeman said they will take local artists' work on consignment.
They also buy interesting items from people who come into the store or will take collectables on consignment.
The store is open seven days a week.
This is a whale sculpted by Freeman.
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Preservationists in Le Roy still think the former Wiss Hotel building can be saved from the old wrecking ball.
In interviews and conversations this week, Wiss backers said they still don't believe village trustees will want to spend six figures of taxpayer money, creating a vacant lot with an uncertain future and expense, when there is a willing and able buyer ready to step in and rehabilitate the structure.
They hope public pressure over the expenditure -- once the cost is known -- will build, and that more people will come forward both to endorse the Le Roy, NY, LLC, and to express their support for retaining some of the charm of the village.
In fact, according to Bob Fussell, more people may show up at tonight's village board meeting to let trustees know how important the issue is to them.
He said he's heard from at least two such people.
The trustees meet at 7 p.m., and since the Wiss isn't on the agenda, any remarks will come later in the meeting during the public comment time.
Meanwhile, the process of requesting bids from demolition companies was delayed a couple of weeks after village officials learned an asbestos survey was necessary before the village could publish an RFP.
Mayor Greg Rogers said the study was completed -- though he didn't immediately have available the results -- and the RFP has been publicized.
The RFP process will give trustees the truest picture yet of just how much it will cost taxpayers to demolish what is perhaps the oldest commercial building in Le Roy.
Informal estimates have ranged from $150,000 to $250,000.
The Le Roy LLC has offered $10,000 for the building and the promise to shore up the building immediately and raise $400,000 to finance restoration.It's unlikely, according to Fussell, that the building could be torn down any sooner than the LLC could shore it up and begin rehabilitation work, negating any concerns over the building's safety.
"My gut feeling is once the community understands the potential cost to demolish the Wiss, we might get a favorable vote at that point," Fussell said.
Rogers has consistently said he doesn't necessarily back the LLC's plans, but thinks their proposal makes the most business sense for the village.
When trustees see the actual price of demolition, it may persuade one or more of them to change their minds.
"I wouldn't say it's a dead deal," Rogers said.
Trustee Jennifer Keys said she's also optimistic that at least one other board member can be persuaded to support the sale of the Wiss to the LLC.
"I hold out hope that until the building is gone, somebody is going to come forward and say something that is going to resonate with other board members," Keys said.
Meanwhile, she said she feels in an odd position. A Democrat, Keys said she feels like she's to the right of some of her colleagues on the issue.
The three trustees advocating the expense of demolition are either Republicans or Conservatives.
"I'm kind of baffled," Keys said. "I must be missing something. I'm generally seen as the most liberal person on the board and I don't see why we would spend this money and not accept $10,000 for the building."
The trustees who so far been backing spending the money are Robert Taylor, Jim Bonacquisti and Mike Tucci.
We tried to reach each of the three men this week to ask a basic question: Why not give the LLC a chance to see what it can do? What's the harm in letting them try?
Taylor said his biggest concern is the people in the LLC. He doesn't think the building can be saved and the people willing to put their own money in the Wiss will lose their investment.
"It's not a question of giving them a chance," Taylor said. "My firm belief is the building is in a condemned condition and they're just pouring their money into a bottomless pit.
"I grew up in this town," Taylor added. "I've known Bob Fussell since he was 2 years old. I haven't seen the list of people in the LLC, but I've lived here for 70 years, so I assume I know them all. Like I said before, I don't want to see anybody pour money down an empty hole."
Taylor said he has fond memories of going to the Wiss as a boy with his parents.
"I remember it when it was in its quote unquote heyday," Taylor said, "and I know what it looks like now."
He said he has it on good authority that the third floor has been suffering from water damage for 30 years and that beams are soaked with water and won't hold a nail.
"I really believe the building is beyond repair," Taylor said.
He also said, "I don't really care what they build. That's not my concern. I don't want them to spend money needlessly."
Bonacquisti also believes getting the actual cost of demolition will help resolve the issue, but not necessarily in favor of the preservationists.
"Despite the folks coming forward now, I can list three times as many folks that agree with our decision," Bonacquisti said in an interview through Facebook messages.
His position hasn't changed, he said.
"I truly believe that corner is worth a lot more empty than having that old building there," Bonacquisti said. "The traffic flow at that four corners is very high and as I have stated in the past, that corner is screaming for some type of retail where we can generate property tax and add to the employment of folks in this area."
The Wiss with apartments on the second and third floor just isn't a good idea, Bonacquisti. There are already too many apartments in Le Roy, he said, plus he knows the building well (he and his wife once lived within 200 feet of the Wiss) and the odor from vehicles, the noise and high traffic volume makes it an unappealing place to live.
He regrets that the village didn't resolve the issue three years ago (which was before he was on the board).
"I also believe taking that building down can fix that corner once and for all," he said. "Have you ever been on Lake Street in the left-turn lane? Pull up to the stop line, only to have to throw the car in reverse as a truck or bus is coming from the east turning north?"
Tucci did not respond to The Batavian's request for an interview.
Keys said she is still confused by her colleagues' position and thinks the LLC proposal should appeal to conservative politicians.
"It's free enterprise," Keys said. "It's people in the community taking care of an issue. It's a group of people who believe in it so much that they've spent their own money to get this far. It just doesn't make sense economically to spend money unnecessarily, even it's as low as $148,000. We could spend that $148,000 on infrastructure."
History: The Wiss has stood in Le Roy for at least two centuries. The original structure was built by Richard Stoddard. Stoddard died in 1810, so the building had to have been erected prior to 1810, according to an article by Le Roy Historian Lynne Belluscio. The article appeared in the Oct. 3, 2005 edition of the Le Roy PennySaver. John Wiss purchased the building in 1869. The hotel was briefly known as the Michel House after George Michel of Wheatland purchased it in 1904. John Hepps purchased it in the 1920s and renamed it the Wiss Hotel, in honor of the previous owner. Don Pangrazio ran the establishment for 40 years before closing it down in 2005. The county acquired the property in 2010 in tax lien foreclosure and immediately deeded it to the village.
Bergen and Le Roy fire crews responded to a barn fire in Riga this morning. WHAM 13 reports 56 sheep died in the fire.
We didn't cover this initially because it is in Monroe County, but as it turns out, the location is actually in Bergen's fire district.
WHAM 13 had a crew on scene, so we would anticipate more coverage from the news station later today.
The sixth-grade students of Wolcott Street School in Le Roy will be performing "The Jungle Book" at 7:30 p.m., Thursday.
Unique to the Le Roy elementary school, the annual sixth-grade musical is an opportunity for its students to showcase their musical, acting and artistic talent.
This year, 63 students auditioned for various roles in the production, with opportunities made for all.
The stage will be colored by the various characters of the storyline, both human and animal alike.
In addition to acting, students are responsible for creating the set, props and costumes.
With only six weeks of rehearsals, “This is the shortest amount of time I have prepared a musical and the students are doing a fantastic job!” musical director Jessa Dechant said.
She is joined by Andrea Feola, who has been the assistant director for the fourth year in a row.
Several other teachers are also providing support to the production by filling in various roles such as lighting and sound.
The Le Roy PTSO and Le Roy Music Boosters will be doing the hair and makeup for the performance.
Also, several Le Roy JR/SR High School students are volunteering their time as backstage crew.
In addition to the 45 minute show, the school is hosting a food drive the night of the production to benefit local food pantries.
The food drive and the musical became a team two years ago when Disney’s "Cinderella KIDS" was on stage at the school. Its goal was to provide a way to give back to the community.
The idea stuck and has become a yearly tradition as a way to do something nice for those in need within Le Roy.
Donations of nonperishable food items can be brought Thursday evening and will be collected at the door.
This event is open to the community. No tickets are necessary.
An observant resident may have helped the Sheriff's Office yesterday nab a suspect in a series of burglaries in the county.
So far, Jeffery James Leaton, 22, of Caswell Road, Byron, has only been charged with an alleged burglary on Griswold Road, Le Roy.
According to Deputy Chief Jerome Brewster, Leaton was caught in the act at the Griswold Road home after a person reported suspicious activity at the residence.
Brewster said investigators are looking at Leaton as a possible suspect in other burglaries. There have been strings of burglaries reported since early January in Elba, Oakfield, Byron, Bergen and Stafford.
Leaton has been charged with one count of burglary, 2nd, and is accused of making forced entry into the Griswold Road residence. He was allegedly in the process of stealing jewelry.
Following arraignment in Town of Le Roy Court, he was jailed on $20,000 bail.
An era ends for the City of Batavia GOP as longtime chairman Joe Gerace resigns from the leadership position.
Gerace has led local Republicans for 15 years.
I have tried to the best of my ability to pull our party together and get our candidates elected, and truthfully, it has been stressful.
I believe I must think of my own health and my commitment to my supportive family.
The 76-year-old community activist has been honored as Italian of the Year by Batavia Downs (the first such award), been named Geneseean of the Year by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce and has been a driving force behind Genesee Cancer Assistance since its inception.
Gerace submitted his letter of resignation last night, but plans to remain active in both the city and county GOP committees.
Councilman Jim Russell will serve as acting chairman until the party elects a new leader.
Nemo, the winter storm that passed through the area last Friday evening and early Saturday left a number of picturesque scenes in it's wake. Shortly after sunrise Sunday morning, with the thermometer reading 10 degrees, Claudia and I went off in search of snowscapes to share with Batavian readers.
This scene certainly has a wilderness look to it. It's actually found along Main Street, Oakfield, just across the road from Allie's Cones & Dogs. The stream is shallow and has sufficient current to prevent freezing despite the low temps.
It was a different story on Oak Orchard Creek where the water runs deeper and the current much slower.
Starving for sunlight, the needles of a spindly spruce have been replaced by a coat of white.
In a distant hedgerow, snow and ice have combined to fashion what appears to be "reindeer figurines."
A drake mallard drifts past a trio of black ducks partially obscured by snow-covered branches.
Constant exposure to a west wind may be the reason for this tilted cedar.
Another photo of Oak Orchard Creek, this one farther upstream, somewhat congested by shoreline brush, but rather enchanting nonetheless.
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