The Downtown Batavia Carnival continued on Saturday, so we have more pictures from this afternoon. Sunday is the final day and it runs from 1 to 5 p.m.

More pictures after the jump:

Families from Batavia's Natural Parenting Network gathered at the home of Kristi Evans today for a May Day Party that featured arts and crafts for the children. Evans said the wind today made it a little tough to do crafts outside, but all the kids were having a great time, anyway.

Sarah Fisher set up the foot-painting activity and Olivia Dayton was the first child to give it a try.

Kids from the First United Methodist Church in Batavia were at the Town of Batavia Fire Hall today washing cars for donations. It's a fundraiser to build a school for a village in Nicaragua. The church needs to raise $20,000. The next car wash is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 12 at the same location. To help with the school building project, call Sharon McWerthy at 343-6326.

One of my favorite parts of Spring in Batavia is charcoal-cooked hot dogs at Jerry Arena's pizzeria on Lewiston Road. I made my first stop of the season there today.

A barn behind a field of dandelions on Judge Road in Alabama.

Workers were in the field of Root Brothers Farm in Oakfield this morning removing rocks. Here Armando Luna hauls away a bucket full.

Yes, it's May Day. And it's Law Day. You might also say, it's The Batavian Day.

The Batavian officially launched on May 1, 2008. In our first month, 2,756 people visited the site.

In May 2009, there were 25,553 visitors. The past two months, we've topped 40,000 unique visitors each month.

And, of course, we've gone from zero to 75 local businesses sponsoring the site.

In May 2008, I was an employee of GateHouse Media and launched The Batavian for my employer. Now, Billie and I own The Batavian, LLC and I no longer work for GateHouse and Billie and I live in Batavia.

A lot can change in two years, and Billie and I (and Pachuco) love how things have turned out.

Thank you all for your support.

P.S.: It would be fun to hear in comments how you first heard about The Batavian.

A car is reportedly in a ditch in the area of 8936 Lover's Lane Road, Corfu.

It's unknown if there are any injuries.

Corfu Fire and Mercy EMS have been dispatched.

UPDATE 2:39 p.m.: A chief reports that a tow is already in route. The driver has left the car and is reportedly walking north toward Main Road. Law enforcement is on scene.

UPDATE 2:49 p.m.: The driver has been located and is being returned to the scene. His only injury appears to be a minor cut on his arm.

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A small gray car reportedly hit a Mercy EMS ambulance that was parked at 103 Ross St., Batavia. The driver reportedly fled the scene.

The car will be missing a side-view mirror, knocked off in the accident. It was last seen heading east on East Main Street East Avenue

No further description is available. No injuries were reported.

Police are responding to take a report and look for the car.

UPDATE 10:10 a.m.: The car is likely a Chevy Cavalier.

In the fall of 1962 Ron Grazioplena turned 14, making him old enough to hunt when accompanied by an adult. Back then, as it is now, the waterfowl season was split into two parts, the early and late season. Because his birthday occurred after the first split, Ron partook of the late season duck hunt. It wasn't until the following year - during the autumn of '63 - that he experienced his first goose hunt. 

Ron's entry into the world of the waterfowler took place in a different era, when hunters stood in line for days at the old permit station on Albion Road, hoping to draw one of the available blinds on the Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area, where duck and goose hunters were limited to 15 shells and all hunting to cease at noon. But Ron and his buddies never had to stand in line. Rather than hunt the game management areas they scouted corn lots, winter wheat fields and the like. Gaining access courtesy of landowners was never a problem.

Ron's high school years at Notre Dame of Batavia limited his hunting to after school and weekends. In 1970 he graduated from St. Bernard College in Alabama with a degree in biology. Rather that apply for a job, he opted to spend the autumn outdoors and proceeded to hunt geese for 70 straight days. It was a regimen he adhered to for nearly two decades, spending every moment possible outdoors. In the process he accessed another form of education, one seldom found in a classroom.

Ron's hunting career began with the youthful anticipation of taking his first duck or goose, to seeking his first bag limit, to striving to take birds on every hunt. Before long he began to invest his time and money into purchasing the best equipment in order to help him attain his goals. Eventually, after years of waterfowling, the time came when he felt that taking his limit of ducks or geese was not nearly as important as the enjoyment of the hunt in all its different aspects. Said Ron, "The frosty chill that comes with first light, sunrise, the whistling of wings over the marsh and the beauty of the birds. Nature began to mean something."  

By 1991 Ron had reached a point where he pulled the trigger only on occassion, discovering he no longer wished to hunt the waterfowl he had enjoyed over the years. By now the family owned a 30 acre marsh and it was at this time when Ron decided he would do his part to help waterfowl thrive. Thus began the building and erecting of wood duck nesting boxes.  

While wood ducks readily took to the nesting boxes, so too did various predators help themselves to the contents of the boxes. One spring, while assisting Ron in the repair of the nesting boxes, we found several with raccoons sleeping inside. And these were boxes that had been placed in the middle of the marsh, far from shore. Still, it had not deterred the strong-swimming racoons. In addition to racoons, mink inhabit the marsh. While not a skilled climber like the raccoon, the mink is an aquatic predator which readily preys on  ducks and their eggs. Thats not too mention weasels, a hazard for shore nesters, then there are  were the winged predators: Great Horned Owls,Redtail  hawks and the like. 

 With so many predators having a taste for waterfowl, Ron developed a new type of nesting compartment, one made from plastic drums, both comfortable and roomy for nesting waterfowl. Made of hard plastic, the drums are secured to steel pipe, their width and and slick surface prevents raccoons and such from taking a firm grip and climbing up and in. In the above photo, the drum on the right has a goose sitting on a clutch of eggs.

"This style of nest has a bottom section which enables hen ducks to spend the night with their ducklings safely out of the water, yet out in the middle of the marsh and away from shore predators" said Ron. He refers to them as "duck motels."  

"Past experience has shown that mother ducks, particularly wood ducks, will utilize such a structure to protect their brood at night when they need to be out of the water and under their mother's wings for warmth and protection", he added.

Installing and maintaining the nests, as well as policing the marsh takes a lot of work. Here Matt Moscicki prepares to install nests. Additional help on the marsh includes Jeff Moscicki, Mary MacIntyre, Darla Luttrell and Ron's cousin and marsh owner, Kenny Grazioplene. 

This is Mary MacIntyre showing the location of active nests.

Mary removing debris from the spillway.

Here Matt prepares to set a pipe into the marsh bottom.

Here's Ron enjoying the fruits of their labor as depicted in the following photos. 

A pair of mallards dabbling

As the mallard on left comes up for air, note the water running off his head and down his bill.

The marsh is home to a variety of waterfowl. Sometimes the open water diving ducks show up, like this pair of buffleheads.

Buffleheads taking off. Both bufflehead photos courtesy of Mary MacIntyre.

Check out the pointed bill on this Red-breasted Merganser - he's a diving duck and a fish eater.

A winged predator with an ample wing span flies past...

While nesting waterfowl are protected.... thanks to Ron "Grazo" Grazioplena and his friends.

Vintage Reserve partners Tim Walton (left) and Rob Credi (right) are pictured with Elefunk Clothing founder Jeff Birge.

Rob Credi is not shy to owning and managing businesses in downtown Batavia and he is at it again. Credi recently teamed up with Tim Walton, to open Vintage Reserve retail clothing at 214 East Main Street, inside the building that houses TopLine Shirt Company, a screen printing and embroidery company that Walton owns.

Credi, who was the owner and founder of Main Street Coffee, and most recently the manager of The Daily Grind coffee shop owned by Ken Mistler, said "The timing worked out perfectly. Tim approached me and told me that he had space that he needed to fill and I always wanted to get into the screen printing and clothing business so it was perfect".

Vintage Reserve currently offers three full clothing lines and has styles for both men and women. The store's self named brand, Vintage Reserve, a line developed by Credi is a line that offers retro styled clothing that is themed on music and the rebirth of our culture. Walton developed Narrabeen Surf Co., a beach styled lined that represents the surfer and beach theme. The last line is an urban styled line, Elefunk Clothing Co., that was originally established in 2002, by founder Jeff Birge and Tim Torrey.

"We want to be the clothing store where you want to go when it's time for clothes shopping. We hope people give us a look before traveling to the mall to buy their outfits." Walton said. "Our prices are competitive and our styles are ones that people want to wear".

Currently the store offers a variety of shirts and has plans to expand to pants, hoodies, bags and other clothing accessories.

Credi and Walton celebrated their official grand opening of Vintage Reserve on April 10 and have had an overwhelming response from the local community. They recently launched their online webstore, www.vintagereserveonline.com, and have been able to expand their customer base to as far as California and Montreal.

Photo courtesy of Nate Oaksford/ NMO Photography

This evening at the carnival, I thought I should get a picture of the midway from a rooftop, and when I saw Steve Valle in front of Valle Jewelers, I asked him if I could borrow his rooftop. We got up there just in time to see the entire flock of gulls on the Latina's roof take flight (unfortunately, none of those shots really turned out). Steve allowed me to hang out a bit longer as the sun set, and eventually, I got this shot.

Friday was a beautiful evening to spend at a carnival, and plenty of people turned out for the second night of the Downtown Batavia Spring Carnival.

The carnival continues Saturday and Sunday.

More pictures after the jump:

The Pembroke Lady Dragons JV softball team defeated the visiting Kendall Eagles 8-6 tonight in a fairly close game. Julia Baker went the distance on the mound for the Dragons striking out 9 batters, and allowing 4 hits and 7 walks. Baker also went 2 for 4 at bat. Ashlee Gilchrist went 2 for 3 with a double, and Breanna Johnson went 3 for 4, also getting a double. Kellie Mroz went 2 for 3 with a clutch 2 run single in the 6th inning to help secure the win. Kayla Streit and Randi DellaPenta also had hits. Both teams played a great game!!

More pictures after the jump:

Above: Julia Baker Delivers another great pitch

A Kendall player hits a line drive

A Pembroke player up to bat

Sliding home. She was safe

Sliding into 3rd base. Once again, she was safe

Believe it or not, she was safe!!

Great Job Ladies!!!

A Batavia man with at least five arrests for various alleged crimes in the past two years now faces a burglary, 2nd, charge for allegedly participating in a home-invasion burglary March 18.

Brandon C. Dodd, 23, who police say does not now list a permanent address, is accused of forcing his way into the home on Vine Street, wearing a bandanna to cover his face, with an accomplice.

Police at the time said the residents of the home fought back, and investigators did not believe the home was selected at random.

Dodd was arraigned and jailed today on $25,000 bail.

His alleged accomplice, Robert D. Wright, 18, of 149 Ross St., was arrested March 26 and charged with burglary, 2nd. At the time of his arrest, he was jailed without bail. His current status is not immediately available.

Dodd's previously reported arrests:

• Aug. 27, 2008: Alleged DWI.
• Feb. 10, 2008: Alleged promoting prison contraband.
• Dec. 23, 2009: Accused of stealing video games from a roommate.
• April 19, 2010: Accused of going to a woman's house and threatening her.
• March 5, 2010: Accused of hitting another man on the side of his head.

Rather than hire a new county employee to replace John Demske, who retires May 14 as director of the Genesee County Nursing Home, a county committee is recommending the Legislature approve a contract with a consultant to provide nursing-home supervision.

The Legislature is being asked to vote on a contract with Insource Healthcare Solutions, out of Buffalo, at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday.

The contract would authorize the county to pay Insource $11,000 per month -- the same cost as a full-time county employee being placed in the position, according County Manager Jay Gsell.

"We felt this was a very good way for us to get new administration in place," Gsell said.

By state law, a licensed administrator who has been approved by the state Department of Health must supervise the nursing home every single day its doors are open, so the county must have Demske's replacement in place on May 15.

Gsell said there never really was a search for a full-time county employee to replace Demske. With the county currently studying its options for the future of the financially troubled nursing home, it made more sense, Gsell said, to have an administration firm handle those duties for now.

"Because we're in the process of studying what our options are, for us to go through the process of hiring another employee and all the things that involves, that right now, getting a licensed administrator ... is a good way for us to have a fairly seamless transition," Gsell said.

The actual administrator Charles Rice, is an employee of Insource currently working at a private facility in Jamestown.

If the Legislature approves the contract with Insource on Wednesday, Rice's credentials would be submitted to the state for approval. Gsell said that process takes about a week.

By law, the initial term of the contract cannot be longer than the term of the current Legislature, so the contract with Insource is for 18 months. Gsell said it will contain language allowing for renewals on an annual basis for another three or four years.

This year, like previous years, parents are braving a long line to buy tickets to the Suzanne's School of Dance dance recital. The first person in line arrived before 8 a.m.

It was a day for hanging out in the sun at Glass Roots on Center Street today. Jen Fountain of Batavia was having fun with a hula-hoop. She said, "I just learned today and now I can't stop."

On Wednesday, elementary students at Elba Central School got to visit with acclaimed children's author Mary Amato. She resides in Silver Springs, Maryland, and is the award-winning author of nine books for young people, as well as numerous plays, poems and articles for publications such as Muse, Cicada, The Washington Post, Parenting, and Mothering.

Elba school librarian Christine Ferris says she likes to have a different author come speak to the students every year. 

"I got interested in [Mary Amato's] books when I read The Word Eater," says Ferris. "She writes very funny books."

The visit was arranged through the BOCES "Visiting Authors" program. The program sends suggestions to schools of various authors, and makes all of the traveling and "touring" arrangements. Amato will be visiting several other area schools as well during her visit.

During the presentation at Elba, Amato spoke to the children about her career, her life, and, foremost, her experiences with writing when she was their age.

"I tell them that I was afraid of writing," says Amato. "I thought I had no ideas, no imagination. Imagination is like a muscle. The more I wrote, the better I got. It's like sports. You wouldn't expect an olympic athlete to get a triple lutz the first time. You have to keep working on it."

She says that the turning point in her writer's block was when she was 7, when her mother gave her a journal (which she is holding in the photo above).

"My mother gave me a notebook and told me to record a trip to California. I liked the fact that I could go back and relive the moments through records of it. That's when I got hooked on writing."

She suggests that aspiring young writers do the same.

"Get a little notebook and write in it. You don't have to write in it every day, just write down some of your feelings and ideas."

More information about Mary Amato and how to contact her can be found on her website, www.maryamato.com.  The website contains information about Mary, her books and how to contact her, as well as a new video blog documenting her writing process.

The Batavia Business Improvement District held its annual meeting and awards luncheon today at the Homestead Events Center in Batavia City Centre.

Top photo, Rick Mancuso, co-owner (with his brother Ben) of T.F. Brown's accepts proclamations from Sen. Mike Ranzenofer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley. Also pictured, Don Burkel, executive director of the BID, and BID President Victor Gautieri.

Bottom photo, William Parker, winner of "Spirit of Downtown Community Volunteer Award," Mary Valle, "Spirit of Downtown BID Volunteer Award," and Rick Mancuso, "Spirit of Downtown Business Award."

Not able to attend, Ken Mistler, owner of Next Level Fitness & The Daily Grind, winner of "Spirit of Downtown Business Award" for a newly established business.