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Competitors from throughout Western New York -- and even West Virginia -- were at Silver Shoe Farms on Pratt Road, Batavia, today for carriage driving races.

Nicole Cable said this is the third year Silver Shoe has hosted the event.

The races feature two- and four-wheel carriages, some of them antiques -- remnants of the pre-automobile era.

Cable, 29, started carriage racing when she was 9. She now teaches carriage driving at the farm.

Competitors were ages 9 and up and both men and woman. Horse sizes ranged from 32-inches tall to 16 hands.

More photos after the jump:

Pembroke Fire has been dispatched to an unknown type accident incident off the roadway in the area of 8755 South Lake Road, Corfu.

A chief is walking to the scene. He's requested a check on the availability of Mercy Flight and has requested a four-wheeler be dispatched to the scene.

UPDATE 4:49 p.m.: Emergency personnel are still trying to reach the victim. Mercy Flight is being dispatched to the Pembroke Fire Hall to stand by at that location.

UPDATE 4:54 p.m.: Four-wheelers are starting down the four-wheeler path, which is apparently the only route into the scene, which is well into the woods. The victim has been located.

UPDATE 4:56 p.m.: This is not a vehicle accident. A middle-aged man collapsed while climbing over a log. Mercy Flight will land at the Pembroke Hall. 

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The Batavia Rotary Club honored its Father Day's tradition by sponsoring its annual Fly-In Breakfast at the Genesee County Airport.

Once again, hundreds of people turned out, including a number of pilots with their planes.

More photos after the jump:

 

The Cardinals 2010 5th-round draft pick, Nick Longmire, provided just about all the offense the Batavia Muckdogs (1-1) needed to win their home opener 7 to 5 over the Auburn Doubledays (1-1).

Longmire hit his first professional home run as well as two doubles and a sacrifice fly to produce 6 RBIs.

More than 1,400 of your friends and neighbors were on hand for the opener.

The winning pitcher was Andrew Moss, of Piedmont, Mo., who scattered five hits over five innings and gave up only one run. Moss (1-0), in his second tour with Batavia, walked one and struck out five.

Jose Gregorio Rada, of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, picked up his first save of the season.

Batavia travels to Auburn tonight for a 6:05 p.m. game. The next home game is Saturday, June 26, at 7:05 p.m. against Scranton.

More pictures (including fan pictures)  after the jump:

 

Local youth soccer players were at the new soccer fields on Bank Street Road today for a tournament.

More pictures after the jump:

There was no shortage of fun at Saturday's carnival in Stafford. The Stafford Fire Department will open the fair again on Sunday, culminating with the drawing in its annual Corvette raffle.

More pictures after the jump:

 

As the Batavian Muckdogs head into their 2010 home opener at Dwyer Stadium, the team will feature a roster stacked with experience.

The majority of players on the 30-man roster has prior minor league experience, with a few familiar names to Muckdog fans.

Topping the list of familiar names are Alan Ahmady and Jon Edwards.

Ahmady was a 2009 NY-Penn League All-Star for the Muckdogs, hitting .292 with a .409 on-base percentage with 32 RBI and 42 runs scored.

Ahmady suffered an off-season set back when he tested positive for amphetamines. Ahmady told his hometown paper that when he was asked to start doing some catching, he felt he needed to get back on medication for attention-deficit disorder.

Right fielder Edwards was part of the 2008 championship team, hitting .304 with 6 HR and 16 RBI. In 2009, Edwards split time between Batavia and Quad Cities. While he smacked 13 HRs (11 in Quad Cities), he hit a disappointing .205. Edwards was a 14th-round pick in 2006. This is his third trip through Batavia.

Among the fresh new faces is Nick Longmire, a native of San Diego, who was selected in the 5th round this June by the Cardinals. As the highest draft pick on the squad, Longmire is expected to patrol center field.

Other players from last year's Muckdogs roster include pitcher LaCurtis Mayes and catcher, Luis De La Cruz, who was also part of the 2008 championship team.

Manager Dann Bilardello is in his first season with the Muckdogs. A first-round pick of the Dodgers in 1979, Biladello spent MLB time with the Reds, Expos, Pirates and Padres.

Game time tonight is 7:05. The first 1,000 fans will receive schedule magnets.

Polka is one of those musical styles that just unavoidably brings a smile to your face. It was an appropriate choice to kick off a fun concert season in Jackson Square on Friday evening. And the Bedrock Boys didn't disppoint.

For more on upcoming shows, check the Jackson Square ad on the right side of the page. The series includes blues, rock, country and jazz and continues through August.

More pictures after the jump:

Every year, the Le Roy Fire Department walks with its antique, used-to-be-horse-drawn pumper and fire hose to Stafford for the Stafford Fire Department's annual parade. First Assistant Chief Tom "Woody" Woods said it's a tradition that has been ongoing for at least 25 years. Department members, along with Pavilion firefighters, walk the two buggies all the way from Le Roy to Stafford, starting at noon, stopping for a picnic along the way.

More parade pictures after the jump:

 

This weekend, horses and riders from throughout Western New York again converged on Batavia Downs for a horse show and riding competition.

The show continues today and tomorrow.

More photos after the jump:

City Fire is being asked to investigate the smell of smoke in the area of Jackson and Maple streets, Batavia.

UPDATE 11:33 p.m.: Appears to be unfounded.

Melissa Christine Schnitzer, 22, of Daunton Drive, Rochester, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 and failure to reduce speed. Schnitzer was stopped at 1:21 a.m., Friday, by Sgt. Brian Frieday in the area of 6734 Randall Road, Stafford.

Denise M. Groff, 33, of Highland Parkway, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, and failure to keep right. Groff was stopped at 1:38 a.m., Friday, on Route 33, Stafford, by Sgt. Greg Walker.

Jeremy M. Denton, 24, of 481 Ladue Road, Brockport, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and failure to keep right. Denton was stopped at 1:24 a.m., Friday, by Le Roy Police Sgt. Michael Hare on West Main Street, Le Roy.

James D. Holstein, 60, of Batavia, is charged with petit larceny, grand larceny, 4th, grand larceny, 3rd. Holstein was taken into custody by State Police for an alleged incident on Jan. 12, 2009. No further details available.

Driving back from the Corfu fire, I spotted this green dune buggy in front of Pellegrino's Auto Sales. Turns out it's Joe's summer ride. It's a 1965 VW. Joe said he bought it out of state three years ago and it only has 69,000 original miles on it. It's not for sale.

Speaking of Bugs, I saw a Love Bug VW on Ellicott Street the other day, but couldn't get turned around to go back and get a picture.

The cause of an early morning fire at an industrial building right on the county line in Corfu is still under investigation.

Firefighters from 12 companies in Genesee, Wyoming and Erie counties responded to the 5:40 a.m. alarm, according to Darien Fire Chief Ray Felski.

One firefighter suffered a twisted ankle and was transported to UMMC, but no other injuries were reported.

It took more than 90 minutes to knock down the fire at 190 Genesee St., and as of 10 a.m., firefighters were still on scene dealing with flare ups and hot spots.

Fire crews had to contend with two difficulties in battling the large structure fire: The garage doors had to be cut off, increasing the amount of time before water could be put on the fire; and there is no municipal water in the area, so tankers had to truck in sufficient water to fight the blaze.

There were dogs in cages behind the structure and firefighters were able to successfully get them out of harm's way.

Several businesses share the facility, according to Felski.

Firefighters were able to keep the fire away from the business office section of the building.

Felski said he anticipates there will be a press release with more information once the cause of the fire is determined.

Bottom photo was submitted by a reader.

A structure fire was reported at Phoenix Development & Construction, 180 Genesee St., Corfu, at about 6 a.m.

Multiple fire companies were dispatched.

Route 33 between Crittenden Road and County Line Road.

As of 7:30 a.m., firefighters were reporting hot spots to clean up and some units were being put back in service.

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Sitting on our deck this evening, I looked up, and there was the moon.

Pavilion girl soccer players -- "the future JV and varsity players" -- got a limo ride to their game today courtesy Mancuso Limousine of Batavia.

The girls were quite thrilled to get to ride in a pink limo.

People who read The Batavian love The Batavian.

We're hear it all the time: I'm addicted to your site. It's my favorite place for news now. I'm on there at least four or five times a day. The Batavian is just what Genesee County needed.

We appreciate your support, but now we're going to ask you for another level of support.  We're asking you to help The Batavian grow, but we're going to give you something back in return.

We'll give back to you expanded coverage, more features for site members and more valuable savings with local businesses.

All we're asking from you is $4.95 per month.

Let me be totally clear: We're not asking you to pay to read news on the site. We're not going in that direction. I believe news should be free, and commenting on the site should be free. That won't change on The Batavian.

But if enough readers pitch in $4.95 per month, we'll be able to do things such as hire staff and expand our coverage.

Here's the best part: In exchange for your $4.95 per month you will receive exclusive coupons and gift certificates from local businesses. Right now we have 20 businesses participating in the program. The total potential annual savings for you is at least $600.

That's right, for about $60 per year, you can save at least $600 a year on things for your home, your car and to dine out at some of the best places to eat in town (the food savings alone is more than $200 per year).

And we will likely sign on more businesses to the program, meaning more savings for you.

• Click here to find out more about how the voluntary subscription program works.
• Click here to review a list of participating businesses and the discounts they're offering to members.
• Click here to join.

Ask me any questions you like in the comments. Thank you for your support!

Every day, Billie and I feel fortunate to live in Batavia and to be part of this community. We enjoy the four seasons, the beauty of Genesee County, the things we can do around here, and the friends we've made.

One thing we truly appreciate about Batavia and Genesee County is all of the great local businesses here. They offer great service and great value.

Strong local and regional businesses are essential to the vibrancy and success of a local community. Dollars spent at local businesses stay in the community, and local and regional businesses give more, and more frequently, to local charities than the big chains -- not to mention the many, many hours of volunteer work put in by small business owners.

We encourage you, as always, to make it a priority to shop local whenever possible and as much as possible. Let your buying decisions be a benefit to your friends and neighbors.

And we especially appreciate it when you frequent the sponsors of The Batavian, and let them know you appreciate their support of our news and conversation site.

Here's the current list of sponsors:

3 D Wine & Spirits
Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Alberty Drug Store
Alex's Place
Anglican Community Church
Baker's Frontier Kitchens
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Downs Casino
Beverly's Flowers
Blue Pearl Yoga
Bonarigo & McCutcheon
Bontrager's Auction
Bontrager's Real Estate
Carlson's Studio
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center Street Smokehouse
Charles Men's Shop
Christiano Cellular
Classic Home Improvements
Crazy Cheap Cars
D&R Depot Restaurant
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
Dog Grooming
Empire Tractor
The Enchanted Florist
Fastec Automotive
Genesee Dental Group
Gilmartin
Hair Studio 25
H.E. Turner & Co.
Herbly Wonderful
Holland Land Office Museum
The Insurance Center
J. Leonard McAndrew
Jackson St. Grill/Belladessa's
John's Service Station
Ken Barrett
KleenAll
Kraving's Kafe
Lamb Family Medicine
Larry's Steakhouse
Lawley Genesee
Lawrence Sealers
Lewis and Lewis
Main St. Pizza Company
The Mane Attraction
Margarita's 
Mark Lewis Agency
Matteo & Mullen, CPA
Matty's Pizzeria
Max Pies
Michael Tomaszewski
Movies in Motion
Mr. Wine & Liquor
Next Level Fitness
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Optique
Pauly's Pizza
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Photos by Roth
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
Sallome's Italian Deli
Select Collision
Settler's
Sloat Tire
Small World Realty
South Main Country Store
St. Joseph's School
St. Paul's School
Stafford Trading Post
Southside Deli
T.F. Brown's
Valle Jewelers
WNY Blacktop Sealers
WNY Fireplace Outlet