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On my Sunday drive I took a turn down Brookville Road in Alexander and started to drive past a little craft store I've passed many times, but this time, I decided to stop.

It seemed like a good place to maybe find a present for my mother.

Once inside I met Barbara Richmond, the sweet and caring proprietor (she owns the shop with her husband, Hugh).

Barbara told me all about the store, which is stocked with handmade items from artisans and crafters from throughout Western New York.

A lifelong crafter herself, Barbara got to know many other knitters, quilters and seamstresses during her many years of attending craft shows.

Two years ago, a little weary of traveling to craft shows, Barbara decided to open Simply Homespun in a little shop next to her home at 10431 Brookville Road.

"As I got older, I found I wanted to have something closer to home and many of our vendors are also getting older and they find its easier to sell in one outlet rather than travel distances to put something up for sale," Richmond said.

The little shop is stuffed with what Barbara calls "needful things" -- dish towels, pillows, blankets, pot holders, scarves and hats, for example.

"This was the way I was raised," Richmond said. "We learned to make the things we needed and the things we wanted because you couldn't always afford to buy these things."

The shop is seasonal and is currently stocked with Christmas-themed items.

Store hours March through Dec. 31 are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The phone number is 591-0470, which is important to know because if an item you want isn't in stock, perhaps Barbara can find somebody to make it for you.

"If you need a special time or something special made, we have the people and the time for you," Richmond said.

The crafters who supply Simply Homespun are all located in Western New York, from Buffalo to Rochester, and several right in Genesee County.

"The general public needs to know, too, that there are still things out there that are handmade, that are needful things, that are available," Richmond said. "You don’t need to go to another country (to have things made)."

A meter box on the house at 6566 N. Lake Road, Bergen, is reportedly on fire.

There is smoke inside the residence.

Bergen Fire Department along with mutual aid from Churchville dispatched. Mercy EMS also dispatched.

Chief on scene reports fire coming from the meter box on the outside.

UPDATE 3:40 a.m.: Churchville requested to respond through the village. The crew will need to lay a line on the south side of the structure.

UPDATE 3:46 a.m.: Le Roy requested to Bergen's hall to fill in. Fire at the meter is out. Crews checking for extension. Ventilation in progress.

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A homeowner on Stringham Drive has created a light show at his house.

Here's the Christmas light photos I was able to shoot this evening.

I've not been down, necessarily, every street in Batavia, but over the past week I've been through every neighborhood. Time permitting, next week I'll try to get out to some of the villages.

Above, North Avenue.

Victorian Drive

North Spruce Street

Naramore Drive

Belvedere Drive

Garden Drive

Garden Drive

Fordham Drive

Grandview Terrace

Stringham Drive

Jake Gerevics, of Erie County-based Apex Wildlife Education, holds an American alligator while at Neptune's Gardens for the pet store's 10th annual Christmas Party.

The party featured food and drinks and a chance to view a vareity of animals.

Gerevics brought along several exotic reptiles to talk about and show off.

Jake holds an African black-throated monitor.

In an era when it seems just about everything is going digital, Jennifer McAuley has taken her business in the opposite direction.

The former Buffalo resident -- she and her family moved to Corfu in August -- has made her living for years selling secondhand items on Ebay.

But as of Friday, McAuley's Bargain Bin is now a "brick and mortar" business. McAuley opened up shop in the Mortellaro building on Jackson Street.

“My Ebay fees were way over what I could pay for a store," McAuley said. "And with a store, I can actually  interact with customers and not worry about postage and ‘hey the post office broke it,’ or whatever.”

When McAuley held a garage sale in Corfu over the summer, the sale went so well, she started to think she needed to open a shop in Genesee County.

"With the economy and everything else going on, this is the best business to open up here,"  McAuley said.

McAuley gets most of her merchandise from storage unit auctions, store return merchandise and overstocks.

She prides herself on keeping prices low, "just like a garage sale."

"A little kid came in yesterday and he told my daugher he only had 50 cents," McAuley said. "I had a pair of Jordon sneakers for 50 cents. He said, ‘I need to get these so I have a new pair of sneakers just like my brother.’ He paid for them with his own money and he was so happy with them. It was absolutely unbelievable. To give somebody a good item at a discounted price is amazing.”

Santa was at Grace Baptist Church on Saturday afternoon for Don Carroll's Toys for Kids event. About 20 families attended, with the boys and girls getting pizza and cupcakes and then being entertained while their parents loaded their cars with the toys and gifts provided by the charity.

Bottom photo, Don Carroll, shaking hands with Santa, with the rest of the organizing committee, Beth Kemp, left, Brian Kemp and Jeff Bartz.

By 4 p.m., Friday, there was a three-hour wait for tattoos and piercings at High Voltage on Main Street, Batavia.

People were lining up for $25 tattoos and $15 piercings with all of the proceeds going to Community Action of Orleans and Genesee.

Owner Mark Fanara posted on Facebook this morning that the event raised more than $2,000 and the crowd didn't clear out until 11 p.m.

Tattoos and piercings were provided by Fanara, Kevin Lockwood, below, and Lisa Vokes.

Cassandra Pierce was among the dozens and dozens of people who showed up at The Laughing Buddha on Friday for half-price tattoos with the donation of a new toy for a family in need.

Owner Jason Lang said toys and gifts were provided to four families, including the Culver family, which recently lost its home in a fire.

In the early evening, Santa showed up at the shop and Lang said people were lining up outside the door waiting to make a donation, get a tattoo, see Santa or just be a part of the event.

Among the donors of food and gift cards were Alex's Place, Center Street Smoke House, Bourbon & Burger and Applebee's.

Pictured with Pierce is tattoo artist Martin Slaymaker.

Deputy Timothy G. Wescott was named Officer of the Year by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office during the department's annual awards luncheon at the office on Park Road, Batavia.

Senior Emergency Services Dispatcher James E. Tripp received the Distinguished Service Award.

During the luncheon, dozen of other honors were handed out for time in service, distinguished service and meritorious service.

For the complete press release along with more pictures, click on the headline.

Pictures from the event can be purchased by clicking here.

Genesee County Sheriff’s Office Announces 2011 Departmental Awards

OFFICER OF THE YEAR

DEPUTY SHERIFF TIMOTHY G. WESCOTT
Deputy Timothy G. Wescott has distinguished himself in the performance of service to the citizens of Genesee County and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office during 2011. Over his 13-plus-year career, Deputy Wescott has forged a reputation for being a reliable, thorough and knowledgeable Deputy Sheriff. He has taken on additional responsibilities making presentations to the public and providing the Safe Child Program on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Wescott knows the citizens in his patrol area and is often the “go to guy” when another deputy is trying to locate someone. He provides a consistently high quality of police service every day and is dedicated to performing his duties with professionalism and motivation. Deputy Wescott has brought great credit upon himself and the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

SENIOR EMERGENCY SERVICES DISPATCHER – JAMES E. TRIPP
Senior Emergency Services Dispatcher James E. Tripp has distinguished himself as a member of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. As the lead Communications Training Officer, Senior Emergency Services Dispatcher Tripp has updated the training program to reflect changes to the position and successfully trained four new dispatchers during 2011 while maintaining the high standards of the office. He was a member of the Genesee County Telecommunications Emergency Response Team that deployed to Broome County in response to flooding following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. As the Assistant Integrated Justice Portal (IJP) Terminal Agency Coordinator, he was instrumental to the implementation, training, and changeover from the legacy NYSPIN system to IJP.  He continues to go above and beyond the call of duty and reflects great credit upon himself and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

LONGEVITY AWARDS - Years of Service

Correction Officer Anthony J. Ridder -- 10
Correction Officer Philip A. Mangefrida -- 10
Correction Officer Walter M. Kolmetz -- 10
Sr. Correction Officer Kevin D. Wolff -- 10
Deputy Patrick J. Reeves -- 15
Sgt. Brian M. Frieday -- 15
Deputy Eric K. Seppala -- 15
Dispatcher Larry J. Buck -- 15
Deputy Cory W. Mower -- 15

Deputy Ronald E. Meides -- 20
Deputy Sean W. Graney -- 20
Deputy John L. Baiocco -- 20
Sgt. Steven C. Mullen -- 20
Deputy Brian A. Thompson -- 20
Communications Coordinator
Russell L. Lang -- 25
Sgt. James M. Meier -- 25
Dispatcher Barbara J. Eddy -- 30

CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION

Jail Cook Manager William Cultrara
Jail Personnel   
Range Officers: Investigator Roger M. Stone, Deputy Joseph M. Graff, Deputy Patrick J. Reeves, Deputy Robert J. Zehler, Deputy Eric J. Koziarski Sr., Correction Officer William A. Zipfel, Katie Conley
 
COMMENDATION

Emergency Services Dispatcher Adam L. Miller
Deputy Christopher A. Parker 
Genesee Justice Financial Management Assistant & Victim Advocate Donna Harris
Principal Financial Clerk Mary Hecht
Animal Control Officer William J. Taylor 
Senior Emergency Services Dispatcher Daniel L. Rieks
Emergency Services Dispatcher Robert H. Tripp
Deputy Brian A. Thompson
Sergeant Thomas A. Sanfratello
Senior Emergency Services Dispatcher Gary D. Diegelman

MERITORIOUS

Deputy Jason E. Saile 
Youth Officer Christopher M. Erion 
Genesee Justice Case Manager Aimee Weierheiser
Deputy Joseph M. Graff
Animal Control Officer Aggie S. Jaroszewski 
Emergency Services Dispatcher Steven L. Robinson 
Deputy Lonnie A. Nati 
Youth Officer John K. Dehm 
Investigator Timothy J. Weis

An East Pembroke resident is charged with criminal trespass in Monroe County after allegedly entering a home in the Town of Sweden without permission.

WHEC reports that Mark Humel, 20, entered the home on West Avenue at 2 a.m., Friday, and made sufficient noise to wake the homeowner. The homeowner told deputies that he found Humel, appearing to be intoxicated, standing in his living room, not wearing shoes, asking for "Dave."

Humel reportedly became belligerent and ran off when police were called.

The suspect was located later leaving a wooded area near the home.

Batavia, which has seen very little snowfall so far this winter, got a light dusting Saturday morning.

The forecast calls for a 30-percent chance of snow from 5 to 7 p.m. and the 10-day forecast predicts a couple more days of light snow in the next week and a chance of rain and snow on Dec. 25.

Careful driving this morning: Untreated roads are slick.

Above, St. Mary's. Below, Austin Park.

A homeless man who was given permission to sleep on the back porch of a residence on State Street has been arrested and charged with arson in the fourth degree after a fire he started caused some damage to the house.

The fire was reported shortly after 8:30 p.m. Thursday and quickly extinguished by city firefighters, causing minimal damage to the porch and siding of the house at 107 State St., Batavia.

Reginald J. Hawker, 57, of no permanent address, was arrested Friday afternoon following an investigation by Det. Patrick Corona.

He was jailed without bail.

Hawker is accused of intentionally setting the fire. Corona said it's believed that Hawker started the fire on the porch in an attempt to cook and to have heat and light.

Previously: Fire at home on State Street possibly set by homeless person trying to keep warm

For the 23rd year, all are welcome at T.F. Brown's on Christmas Day for a free holiday dinner, and for the children, Christmas gifts.

Seating times at T.F. Brown's this year will be at noon and 1 p.m. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling Maud at 343-2091.

T.F. Brown's is not officially open on Christmas and there will be no bar service that day.

The traditional Christmas Day fare will include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, salad and dessert.

Photo: Ben Mancuso, Rick Mancuso, Joe Teresi, John Murray, president of the Batavia Lions Club, and Chuck Brenner, also of the Lions Club.

For the fourth year, Gilmartin Funeral Home has put on display a memorial Christmas tree in remembrance of people who have passed during the year. The tree features a bow and tag for each person remembered and the family is sent a tree ornament with the name of their loved one on it.

"It's a tough time of year because it brings up a lot of memories," T.J. Woodward said. "We hope this eases those memories and brings happier thoughts. It's nice for a family that somebody remembers. It helps with the healing process."

The tree is on display in Gilmartin's newly remodeled entry way.

This sign appeared in a shop window on Ellicott Street in the last day or so.  Nobody was around this morning, so no word on when the new deli might open.

It will be Ellicott Street's third deli. This summer, Molasses Hill moved from Alexander to a location near Harvester Ave., and, of course, on the corner of Liberty and Ellicott is Southside Deli. That location has been a deli or meat market for more than 100 years.

There's been a bit of a boomlet on Ellicott this past year, with four, now five, new shops opening for business.

A couple of readers have wanted to know this morning what's up with the Hess gas station at Oak and Main streets, Batavia, which has its driveways blocked. The station and convenience store are closed for remodeling. The manager said the station should reopen tomorrow.

Police are continuing an investigation this morning into a fire Thursday night at 107 State St. in Batavia.

Det. Pat Corona isn't calling it a criminal investigation, but police do want to know more about how and why the fire was set.

Corona said it appears a local homeless person had set up shelter -- with the home owner's permission -- on the back porch of a residence, then around 8:30 p.m., the man apparently tried to start a fire to keep himself warm.

"At least that's how it appears," Corona said. "We want to talk with him and find out more."

The man is known to police and was located last night by officers, but was uncooperative. Corona said detectives will try to interview him again.

The fire did minimal damage to the porch and the siding of the house, Corona said.

(Initial report)

Tonight we selected the winners in random drawings of three recent contests run on The Batavian.

The winner of the Hardcor Audio Facebook Like Contest is Diane Smith. Diane wins a $100 gift certificate from Hardcor Audio.

The winner of the VIP Salon Facebook Like Contest is Mary Cooley. Mary wins a gift basket from VIP Salon.

The winner of the Shop Batavia Facebook Like Contest is Terry Freeman. Terry wins a $200 gift certificate for Adam Miller Toy and Bicycles.