Hundreds of people lined Main Street in Downtown Batavia on Friday night for the Christmas parade that was the highlight of a successful Christmas in the City for 2014.

To purchase prints, click here.

Le Roy resident Bob Boyce was recognized at a luncheon Friday afternoon for his years of dedicated volunteer work in the community by the UMMC Foundation and St. Jerome's Foundation with the 30th Annual Health and Humanitarian Award.

For more than 26 years Mr. Boyce has devoted his time and talent to improving the quality of volunteer ambulance service for the people of Le Roy. He is currently president of the Le Roy Ambulance Service, a position he has held for the past 12 years. Under his leadership Le Roy Volunteer Ambulance grew to Le Roy Ambulance Service, assuring availability of both trained personnel and volunteers needed to provide ambulance service to residents.

He's served on UMMC Foundation Board of Directors, and the former Genesee Memorial Hospital Group Board of Directors.

In one of several letters nominating Mr. Boyce, Marie Scofield noted his volunteer efforts have not been limited to health-related organizations, but have included education. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Genesee Community College after serving on GCC Foundation Board of Directors for nine years, including two years as president. He has been active with the Le Roy Rotary Club, helping raise money for scholarships benefitting Le Roy students.  

Boyce was also active in youth sports in Le Roy for many years.

For more pictures from the event, click here.

WBTA, Ken Barrett's and the Salvation Army teamed up once again this year for our community's annual toy drive today.

It's the 20th year the toy drive has been hosted at Ken Barrett's with WBTA providing the promotional push to help generate more than two truck loads worth of donations.

Firefighters from the City of Batavia were on hand to help accept donations.

The toys will be delivered by Santa to boys and girls throughout our community, making it a happier Christmas for many.

Firefighter Mike Dorgan and WBTA radio personality Nici Johnson.

WBTA's ad manager Lorne Way and Joan Stevens from the Salvation Army.

Lyndonville got a good taste Thursday night of the kind of team the Elba Lady Lancers hope to be in 2014-15: an aggressive defense that generates turnovers and a disciplined offense that uses spacing and passing to create open looks.

The result, Elba 64, Lyndonville 32.

"We try to share the ball," said Head Coach Tom Redband. "If we don't, we're not going to be very good. And we try to eliminate shot attempts."

Possession after possession Thursday, the Lancers swatted the balls from Tiger hands or snatched passes midflight.

The turnovers were often created by pure pressure on ball handlers.

The Lady Lancers are a team that will be looking to define itself early in the season following the graduation of last year's point guard Kelsey Bezon.

"She was our leader," Redband said. "She was our facilitator. We had to wait and see how everyone reacted to new roles and they're doing a great job of dealing with it. People have been filling roles. They step in and they step up."

Returning as starters are Alex Reigle, Alyssa Bogue, Jennifer Pedro and Haley Brown.

Redband is looking for big things from that core group to help Elba make another run at post-season play.

This gray squirrel found a weathered and wrinkly apple on the ground and decided on taking it back into the apple tree before gnawing away.

The red squirrel stuck with more traditional fare -- a black walnut.

A nuthatch is waiting to have a turn at the bird feeder.........it might take awhile.....

or until this gray squirrel is done gorging itself.....there has been a variety of birds coming to the feeders: cardinals, juncos, chickadees, blue jays, etc.....and quite often they all have to wait for the squirrel to finish.  

A "well-insulated" mourning dove.........

and a finch that seems to be contemplating whether or not to head South.

Madeleine Rusch, with her painting "Cat Fancy," won Best of Show in the Batavia Society of Artists 2014 Winter Art Show, on display now at the Richmond Memorial Library.

FIrst Place went to Dennis Wood for "Winter Scape," second to Kevin Feary for "Hustled Again," and Feary also got third for "Snow in November."

Honorable mentions went to Karen Crittenden, Rusch, Nicole Tamfer, Bryan Kemp, Lorraine Gluck and Ed Adams.

Beth Kemp snaps a picture of Bryan Kemp with his Honorable Mention award.

Michael Messerly, right, publisher of the Batavia Daily News, attended the event.

Joan D'Alba gets her picture taken under her painting, "Snowy Barn."

Along Main, along Ellicott Street and in the roundabout, city crews have completed installation of new centennial celebration banners.

City workers were busy with tasks Downtown today getting things ready for Christmas in the City tomorrow evening, including making sure the snowflakes on the light poles are ready to illuminate correctly.

Tomorrow's events:

4 to 8 p.m., Photos with Santa
97 Main St.

Lighting of Downtown Christmas Tree, 5 p.m.

Horse and Wagon Rides ($1), 5 to 9 p.m.
Tickets available at Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, 8 Center St. Proceeds benefit the Business Improvement District.

Trolley Rides to the Wonderland of Trees at the Holland Land Office Museum, 5 to 9 p.m.
Jackson Street Parking Lot (across from Valle Jewelers)
Trolley will continue throughout the night to bring people back and forth to the museum and Jackson Street parking lot. Trolley runs approximately every 15 minutes. The Holland Land Office Museum (HLOM) will be offering free refreshments for the event as well as gift baskets and discount sales in the gift shop.

GO ART!, Frosted Panes exhibit
The Genesee Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO ART!) is pleased to announce its annual holiday show on exhibit through Dec. 19th in Batavia. This year's theme, "Frosted Panes," exhibits 43 pieces by 14 local artists on display in two GO ART Galleries -- the GO ART! Main Gallery in Seymour Place and at the Genesee County Senior Center on Bank Street.
A FREE Meet-the-Artists Reception will be held in conjunction with Batavia's Christmas in the City.

Batavia Concert Band, 6 p.m., City Centre

Holiday Parade, 6:30 p.m.
Parade will take place on Main Street starting at Liberty Street and ending at Jackson Street. More than 40 participants will entertain you with music, floats, singing, a juggler, fire trucks, and more! Santa will choose a child from his "Nice List" to ride with him in the Horse & Wagon!

The following Downtown businesses will be hosting special events as well:

Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle -- 8 Center St.; Enjoy holiday specials, drawing/prizes, coupons, and their famous chili during the Christmas in the City festivities. Tickets for the Horse & Wagon rides may purchased inside of Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle. For questions, call (585) 343-0548.

Amy's Fluffy Friends -- 238 Ellicott St.; Have your pet's photo or group photos taken by Along Photography. Only $5 for a photo shoot! Amy's will also be offering a raffle with doggie treats. For questions, call (585) 343-0052.

Charles Men's Shop -- 200 E. Main St.; Stay warm and enjoy holiday discounts and warm refreshments! For questions, call (585) 343-2086.

City Slickers -- 59 Main St.; Celebrate the season with City Slickers' awesome deal with a Buy 1 Entree, Get the 2nd at Half Price. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a local band playing for the evening. Be sure to also purchase your "Dinner & a Movie" gift certificates as stocking stuffers! For questions, call (585) 345-6788.

Edward Jones -- 7 Jackson St.; Get out of the cold for a little while and enjoy a hot drink and cookies courtesy of Edward Jones. For questions, call (585) 345-1773.

Karen's Yarn, Paper, Scissors -- 39 Jackson St.; 10% holiday discounts on scrapbook paper and yarn! After the parade, stop by Karen's to get a free balloon animal courtesy of Jason the Juggler.

Marchese Computer -- 220 Ellicott St.; With coupons and refreshments, learn more about their holiday specials including computers starting at $349.99! For questions, call (585) 343-2713.

Sweet Pea's Cupcakery Cafe -- 23 Jackson St.; Offering free samples of cookies. Perhaps you'll want to come back to purchase some for Santa for Christmas Eve? For questions, call (585) 344-5627.

T-Shirts, Etc. -- 111 Main St.; T-shirt coloring for kids! Holiday specials include a Buy One, Get One at 50% off. Also, be sure to visit their guest vendor, Butterfly Studio. For questions, call (585) 345-1993.

UMTOO -- 317 Ellicott St.; Will be open until 9 p.m. and will have Christmas refreshments, Christmas stories (traditional and historical), and Christmas songs by local singers who will engage people to join in singing. For questions, call (585) 993-2325.

Valle Jewelers -- 21 Jackson St.; Will be offering holiday specials for that evening only. For questions, call (585) 343-3372. 

For the second year, the Christmas Crew was erecting the annual Christmas tree at the corner of Main and Lake streets in the Village of Le Roy (the former Wiss Hotel lot).

Doing the work today were Andrew Lathan, Ed McDonald and Michael Glazier.

Lathan Tree Service donated the 30-foot tree a year ago.

The tree will be lit this year in part with the help of donations from National Grid (new utility pole) and Humphrey Electric (new electric installation).

There will be a tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m., Saturday, at the close of Winterfest.

Michael Glazier

It's become an annual holiday event for Terry Hills Golf Course -- a great buffet lunch with musical accompaniment from Serendipity Swing, and Terry Hills had another fine turnout today for this year's lunch and show.

Phoenix is missing somewhere in the Brookville and Hunn roads area of Alexander. She was last seen at home about 5:30 p.m. but got out of the house somehow.

She is sick. She has breast cancer and it is spreading to her lungs. She needs medication daily.

Phoenix is 9 years old, an English setter that is black and white. She is very friendly.

If found, contact Edna at (585) 813-2997.

A business simply called The Farm, that featured antiques and locally handcrafted items, was destroyed this morning when a fire broke out inside.

The cause hasn't been determined but an early guess, officials said, is that the fire started in a chicken coop area were heat lamps were used.

Owner Renee Franclemont lives in the house next door and a deputy had to stop her from going inside once the fire was already well involved because she wanted to save the business's financial records.

The alarm for Corfu fire was sounded about 5:45 a.m. 

Chief Dean Eck said when he arrived on scene there was still only light flame from one end and one window, but the black smoke was heavy. The fire spread fast inside the old 19th Century-era barn.

Mutual aid departments included East Pembroke, Pembroke, Indian Falls, City of Batavia, Alabama, Darien and Alden. 

Previously: Locally grown and locally made items featured at new store in Corfu

New York Times: Protests After Grand Jury in Eric Garner Chokehold Case Doesn’t Indict Officer

Some of you may have already noticed -- there are a couple of sponsor's ads on the right side of the page that if you mouse over the box, it flips over to reveal a secondary message. 

This is a new concept in online display advertising and locally, it's only available on The Batavian and the Wyoming County Free Press.

To help kick off the introduction of Flip Ads, we're going to run a contest on four days next week (four days between Monday and Friday). Will will randomly pick an ad on the site and make it a Flip Ad, but the secondary message will be a secret code. The code will go up at some unannounced time during the day and stay up until we have a winner. The first person to e-mail me, howard@thebatavian.com, with the correct code, will win $25 cash. (We'll post a reminder Monday morning about the contest.)

After the first week, we'll run the same contest once a week.

Easy to win: mouse over ads and find the Flip Ad with the secret code, like an Easter Egg hunt.

Can you find the two ads running now that are Flip Ads?

Sponsors: Interested in Flip Ads? Contact Lisa Ace, lisa@thebatavian.com, or (585) 250-4118, to sign up.

The thing you'll notice about the Notre Dame Girls Basketball Team this year is they're going to have some big players crashing the boards.

Shea Norton is 6' 2". Rebecca Krenzer is 6' 1". Taylor DiMartino is 6' 2". Michelle Martinucci is 5' 11".

"This is the biggest team I've ever had," said Head Coach Dave Pero.

It's still a young team -- there are only three seniors on the squad and all of the bigs are juniors -- so the girls still have a lot to learn, but they're showing progress, Pero said. 

"I like what we have. We have a really, really nice group of girls. They're working very, very hard."

The goal, as always with Fighting Irish basketball, is to dominate on defense and make points on transitions.

"We always want to keep teams in 40s. If we can keep teams in the 40s, 45, we've got a chance to win."

The three seniors are Krysta Tomaszewski (currently injured), Emily McCracken and Emma Francis.

McCracken and Francis are both guards, team captains, and Pero said they are good shooters who should help score some points.

He said the team is eight or nine players deep. Also expected to contribute are Hannah Bowen and Callie McCulley.

McCulley is a familiar name, of course, to Notre Dame hoops fans and the youngest McCulley (who is 5' 10") to make a varsity roster. She shows a lot of promise, Pero said, even as an eighth-grader.

"When you bring up young players, you're going to live and die with the good things they do and the bad things they do, but we think she's ready and we expect her to come off the bench and give us a hand."

The Notre Dame roster, on paper, looks strong. When the team opens its season at 7 p.m., Dec. 10, in Oakfield, we'll get to see how all those big numbers translate to points on the board.

A group of Le Roy residents who once tried to save the Wiss Hotel with a unique community-based investment structure have found a new target for their revitalization efforts: 24 Main Street.

Le Roy New York, LLC, is looking to raise the funds necessary to refurbish the now vacant mixed-use building, which was most recently Java's Coffee Shop.

"Our goal is to create three beautiful residential apartments on the second and third floors and create a vibrant commercial establishment on the ground floor," said Bob Fussell, one of the organizers.

The group needs to raise $250,000, and already has $177,000 toward that goal, mostly from contractors who are contributing labor, equipment and expertise as their primary investment.

A minimum investment in the project is $1,500.

A similar structure for community investment in a revitalization project, led by Rick Hauser, has been used in Perry to help transform that community's downtown.

Hauser, now the mayor of Perry, was a consultant to the group on the Wiss Hotel proposal, which eventually fell short of the group's goal to buy the building and restore it rather than see it demolished.

For more information, visit 24mainleroy.org

The building will be open for tours during Winterfest this Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Press release:

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 43rd Annual Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Clarion Hotel, Park Road, Batavia. This is the County’s premier event that honors businesses and individuals for achievements in business, community service and volunteerism. Tickets are $50 per person or a table of 10 for $450.

The evening begins at 5:30 with hors d’oeuvres, entrée tables & cash bar (no formal sit-down dinner is to be served). The Award Program starts at 7 where dessert and coffee will be served. 

This year’s honorees are: 

• Business of the Year -- Applied Business Systems, Inc.  
• Industry of the Year -- Müller Quaker Dairy
• Agricultural Business of the Year -- Corcoran Combining & Trucking  
• Innovative Community Contribution of the Year -- Merrill Lynch
• Special Service Recognition of the Year -- Genesee Cancer Assistance, Inc.
• Geneseeans of the Year, “Peggy” Margaret Lamb, of Oakfield, and William “Bill” Schutt, of Basom

Via The Batavian's news partner, WBTA:

That proposed rally behind police everywhere announced by Ward Six Batavia Councilwoman Rose Mary Christian for Saturday night in Downtown Batavia has been called off. Christian told WBTA news this morning she had talked with some law enforcement officials who said it was the right idea but the wrong time. Councilwoman Christian says as a politician and a citizen she supports all law enforcement officers. Earlier she had said she is disgusted by the disregard for law enforcement that became evident in Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere in recent weeks.