Alabama Hotel, 1353 Lewiston Road, Basom, NY: A historic and legendary tavern and restaurant. The Alabama Hotel is famous for its fish fries, but also serves a variety of top-quality entrees, featuring Certified Angus Beef. Now with expanded hours. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Alex's Place, 8322 Park Road, Batavia, NY: People come from all over the region for a fine dining experience at Alex's. It's best known for its ribs, of course, but Alex's seafood is also a favorite of the restaurant's diners. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Alli's Cones & Dogs, 7063 Lewiston Road, Oakfield, NY: Full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu; all-you-can-eat salad bar; ice cream served year-round; eat-in or take-out. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Blue Pearl Yoga, 200 E. Main St., Batavia, NY: Exercise your soul as well as your body in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. We have a gift certificate for five weeks of yoga, five classes for $30.

Bourbon & Burger Co., 9 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: Batavia's newest burger joint offers more than two dozen different types of tasty hamburgers. Our menu also includes a variety of sandwiches, appetizers and an extensive beer list, plus a full bar. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Bohn's Restaurant, 5256 Clinton St., Batavia, NY: Fine dining in an atmosphere of casual elegance. Lunch and dinner, steak, prime rib and seafood. Ask about Bohn's catering services and banquet facility. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, NY: Authentic Southern BBQ, from ribs to brisket with all the fixin's. We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Clor's Meat Market, 4169 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, NY: For the best, most flavorful, juiciest chicken or hamburger in town, hands down, stop by Clor's. Oh, and the steaks are great, too. And the sausage. Clor's also serves lunch and dinners from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. We have a $10 gift certificate for $5.

Delavan's, 107 Evans St., Batavia, NY: To me, Delavan's is one of those restaurants where you want to eat frequently until you try everything on the menu. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Ficarella's Pizzeria, 21 Liberty St., Batavia, NY: Dine-in, drive-thru or delivery. Featuring fresh, hearth-baked pizza since 1985, plus wings, pasta and more. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10. (Good only at the Batavia location.)

Greg'ry's Bakery, 13 North Lake Road, Bergen, NY: The bakery offers a variety of the finest cakes, cookies, pies, cupcakes, breads, breakfast and lunch sandwiches and so much more. Each treat is made the same as it has been for decades and baked right here. Come in and sample some for yourself! We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Kravings, Valu Plaza, 4152 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Kravings offers soups, salads and sandwiches, fresh and flavorful; Monday through Saturday. We have a $10 gift certificate for $5.

Oliver's Candies, 211 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Oliver's, a Batavia landmark, offers the finest chocolate and confections in the area. We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Salsa & Curry, 13 Jackson St., Batavia, NY: An authentic Mexican restaurant, offering all of your favorite dishes from enchiladas and burritos to tacos and fajitas, as well as daily Indian food specials. We have a $20 gift card for $10.

Settler's, 353 W. Main St., Batavia, NY: Settler's has a 25-year history of serving great, affordable breakfasts, lunches and dinners to Batavians. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Spirits, 78 Lake St., Le Roy, NY. Le Roy's favorite sports bar, where fun and good food are always on tap. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

The Mane Attraction Salon and Spa, 99 Main St., Batavia, NY: offers "Affordable Luxury" in downtown Batavia. We pride ourselves in the great customer service we give to the entire family. Men, women and children are all welcome either by appointment or walk-in. We offer all hair care services including cuts, color, highlights, lowlights, perms, styling/updos, facial, leg and back waxing, Shellac Polish System, manicures and pedicures. We are the only salon in Batavia that has an airplane chair for kids' cuts! Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. We have $20 gift certificates for $10.

Viking Valhalla Restaurant & Rose Garden Bowl, 21 Buffalo Road, Bergen, NY: Open for lunch Monday through Sunday, and dinner Friday and Saturday evenings. Dinner favorites are our succulent prime rib and Friday fish fries! We are always happy to help plan your special occasion -- wedding, shower, rehearsal dinner, stag party, graduation, company function, banquet, family or class reunion. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

SOLD OUT

Note: if you've never purchased Deal of the Day before, or are otherwise unfamiliar with the rules and process, click here.

Michael Moran was the Week 15 winner of the Main St. Pizza Company NFL Challenge.

Robbie Gould kicked the longest field goal of the week. Gould booted one 57 yards. Moran's name was selected in a random drawing from among 15 entrants who correctly predicted Gould's feat.

Moran wins one large cheese pizza with one topping. He has one week to claim his prize.

To enter this week's contest, click here.

Heather Lynn Moore, 30, of Sunnyside Street, West Seneca, is charged with possession of a controlled substance not in its original container, failure to dim headlights and unlicensed operation. Moore was stopped at 12:30 a.m. Thursday on Route 77, Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Here's your Christmas Light pictures from Wednesday evening's meandering through Batavia.

Top, Roosevelt Avenue.

Roosevelt Avenue

River Street

Redfield Parkway

Bogue Avenue

Union Street

Vernon Avenue

Richmond Avenue

Friday is your chance to get inked and support a local charity.

High Voltage Tattoo & Piercing, 110 W. Main St., Batavia, will tattoo or pierce anybody who shows up at the door from 10 a.m. until there's nobody left to tattoo or pierce, and donate all of the proceeds to Community Action of Orleans and Genesee.

Tattoos are $25 and piercings are $15, with 100 percent of the fees going to Community Action.

Above, Lisa Vokes, a tattoo artist, and Mark Fanara, tattoo artist and owner, with a examples of the tattoos they will apply Friday for $25 each.

Tattoo artist Kevin Lockwood, not available today for a picture, will also have a series of tats available for people to choose.

All proceeds from jewelry and aftercare product sales will also be donated.

Free refreshments will be provided by Southside Deli, Michelle's Catering Co. & Bakery and High Voltage Tattoo.

Community action helps people from preschoolers to the elderly and those in between with a variety of services.

"Our community has treated us well and we would like to return the favor," Fanara said. "We hope people will stop in to help us raise money to help people and change lives."

A one-car rollover accident is reported at 9552 Warsaw Road in the area of Cole Road. There is one patient, who is conscious and alert and bleeding from the head.

Le Roy Fire Department and Le Roy medics are responding. Traffic control is warranted.

UPDATE 4:24 p.m.: Le Roy medics are transporting the patient to the hospital in Warsaw. Le Roy fire back in service.

Nedal Abdul Mansour, 48, of Jay Street, Rochester, is charged with possession and transport of more than 10,000 untaxed cigarettes, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, unlicensed operator, failure to keep right and moving from lane unsafely. Mansour was stopped for alleged traffic infractions at 10:51 p.m. Tuesday on Route 77 in Pembroke by Deputy Patrick Reeves. Mansour was allegedly found in possession of 15,650 untaxed cigarettes.

Ajayc Kweese George, 18, of St. Marks Avenue, New York City, is charged with trespass. George was reportedly told on Dec. 10 not to return to College Village property and allegedly did return at 10:03 p.m., Tuesday.

Marion G. DeFelice, 55, of Bernd Road, Pavilion, is charged with DWI, refusal to take breath test, unlicensed operation and failure to keep right. DeFelice was stopped at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Route 33, Town of Batavia, by Deputy Tim Wescott.

Earl Shateek-Anthony Lockhart, 19, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny and harassment, 2nd. Lockhart is accused of shoplifting $85.86 from Walmart. Lockhart allegedly pushed a loss prevention officer who attempted to apprehend him and then ran out of the store. Lockhart was located a short time later by a Sheriff's deputy.

Jessica Lynn Barber, 26, of 647 Lapp Road, Alden, is charged with DWI, driving left of pavement markings in a no-passing zone and unlawful possession of marijuana. Barber was stopped at 12:36 a.m. Tuesday on County Line Road, Darien, by Deputy Patrick Reeve.

Jonathan Robert Hyman, 39, of Rose Road, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Hyman was allegedly found on a property on Rose Road without permission at 11:04 p.m., Dec. 9, looking in a window to a residence.

Brandon Cody McCoy, 20, of Angling Road, Corfu, is charged with harassment, 2nd. McCoy is accused of pushing another male during a domestic incident at 8:28 p.m., Monday.

Two brothers (Trystan and Max Sandvoss) bought a former horse farm in Bethany a year ago and are now raising goats and making cheese, according to a lengthy article in the Buffalo News.

No one was selling cheese they made from goats who grazed in the green fields of Western New York. "Here, between Buffalo and Rochester there's a bigger market than Seattle," Trystan said.

Spreadable chevre, in double cream, garlic, dill or other flavors? Fresh cheddar curds that squeak between your teeth? For those, First Light Creamery would have first dibs on local cheese fans' wallets.

So the Sandvosses moved to Genesee County in April 2010. They worked on their cheese labels, each bearing the name reflecting their double mission: First Light Farm and Creamery. They retrofitted the stables to house goats, built sanitary rooms for making, storing and packaging cheese. They reached out to nearby farmers to trade byproducts, like their whey (cheese runoff), for a couple of the pigs it would feed.

The Sandvosses aren't quite farmsteaders yet. Their young herd includes 45 goats, with 23 producing milk -- not enough yet to meet demand for their cheese, found at more than 10 farmers' markets this summer and outlets like Premier Gourmet, Farmers and Artisans and the Lexington Co-Op. So for now they blend their herd's milk with high-quality, organic Jersey cow milk from neighbor Brent Tillotson's farm.

So far they've sold pretty much everything they've made, Trystan said. Staffing their farmers' market booth puts them directly in touch with customers, and they appreciate the chance to explain the fine points of their labors.

The NYS DOT turned Ellicott and Court/Evans streets into a four-way intersection this morning while doing traffic light repair.

What the Dickens are the Batavia Players up to now?

According to Patrick Burk, the popular local theater group's president, they "wanted to do a wonderful Christmas gift to the community for the support of our new Harvester 56 Theater" this holiday season.

So they're putting on their own rendition of Charles Dickens' classic, "A Christmas Carol," the story of Ebenezer Scrooge -- a greedy, bitter, lonely old miser whose whole way of looking at the world gets turned upside down by a series of ghostly visitations on Christmas Eve.

Burk described the show as "bright and colorful as well as technically magical."

"It has a classic storyline and has always been one of my favorites," he said. "I could never find where an original version had been done (in Batavia, at least). A couple of contemporary versions with modern day spins were done in the '70s and early '80s."

The Players, on the other hand, will be giving folks pure Dickens, without any modern spin. All costumes and sets are going to be traditional. The music will be "contemporary for the time (the early 1840s, to be precise)," but with a few newer carols, according to Burk.

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, in addition to a matinée performance at 2 o'clock on Sunday. All performances will be at the Harvester 56 Theatre, at 56 Harvester Ave. in Batavia.

Sunday's performance will be held for the benefit of the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation.

"Many of (the foundation's) members have been very supportive of us," Burk said, "I am so happy to be able to do this for them."

For those who are not familiar with Dickens' story, one of its most well-known and endearing characters is a sick child named Tiny Tim. Burk felt the Napoleone Foundation would be a "good fit" for this story.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for children and seniors. They can be purchased through www.showtix4u.com.

Bob Ammon wants his name cleared.

The longtime Corfu Fire District board member objected Tuesday night to media reports a month ago that he was disciplined by his fellow commissioners.

"I think my name was really disgraced and it really sucks," Ammon said. "I wanted to stay in my house and hide but I’m not because I did nothing wrong."

The fire district's attorney, Mark Boylan, said it was not the intention of the commissioners to "discipline" Ammon when they voted to seek his resignation from the board Nov. 16.

Commissioner Linda Tucker read the minutes from the previous meeting and the word "discipline" was not used in the resolution asking Ammon to resign, nor was it used in the section calling for the suspension from the fire department of Jeff Ammon and Shari Salim.

Jeff Ammon and Shari Salim are accused of inappropriately using district credit cards for personal purchases. The money was repaid to the district, though some question remains about late fees accumulated related to the charges.

The use of the cards was first publicly addressed in a NYC comptroller's report and then further researched by a fire district ethics committee.

Both the recommendation that Jeff Ammon and Shari Salim be suspended and the request for Bob Ammon to resign came from the committee.

Tuesday, Bob Ammon said he won't resign.

"I've lived in this community my whole life," Ammon said. "I thought many of you were my friends at one time. I wish I could get this back to being sensible again and move on."

Following the Nov. 16 meeting, both The Batavian and the Batavia Daily News reported that Bob Ammon, Jeff Ammon and Shari Salim were "disciplined" by the commissioners.

Boylan told Ammon that nobody with the district told either publication Ammon was being disciplined. It was, he said, "a misunderstanding" of the board's action.

The ethic committee's report did mention Bob Ammon in connection with one use of a district credit card where there were no receipts for the purchase. It was a charge at Dick's Sporting Goods. Ammon said he purchased equipment, with board authorization, for the fire department's exercise room.

Tuesday's meeting was often emotional with years-old issues being argued and some tears from Sandy Ammon, whose Bob's wife and the mother of Jeff and Shari.

"We've had three phone calls in the last month from other departments asking us to join," Sandy said. "The other departments are sticking behind them (Jeff and Shari). Go to these other departments and see what they're saying. We've been getting phone calls and my son and daughter have been getting phone calls.

"Most of you have had a grudge against the Ammon family for years," Sandy later added, "and now they’re out of the fire department."

Bob Ammon said the turn of events have been painful for his son, a former chief and former firefighter of the year.

When Jeff took his lights off his car, there were some tears, Ammon said.

"He told me, 'Dad, I did wrong, but I didn't do nothing to those people.'"

One fact related to the credit cards not previously reported and mentioned by Sandy, is that when the district applied for the credit cards, the district used Jeff's and Shari's credit history to get approval for the cards.

Boylan told Bob Ammon that pending a final CPA audit, the case is pretty much over and nothing has been referred to the District Attorney's Office nor the Sheriff's Office for a possible criminal investigation. There is no criminal investigation, he said.

Before adjourning, the board voted 4-0 (Ammon recused himself) to reduce Shari's suspension from the department from two years to one year. Under NYS law, the board doesn't have authority to suspended somebody for more than one year.

Also on Tuesday, district voters elected a new commissioner to a five-year term.  Bruce Fauth, the only name on the ballot, received 36 votes. Jeff Ammon received 14 votes as a write-in candidate.

A deer has jumped through a window of a residence at 12 Myrtle Street, Le Roy.

One report said it had been confined to a bedroom.  A later dispatch said, "it's running around the house."

Le Roy Police and State Police responding to the scene.

A Le Roy office inquired to double-check the kind of tag to issue if the residents wish to keep the deer.

UPDATE 8:17 a.m.: An environmental conservation officer is on scene.

When I first posted this Tuesday morning, I accidently used a link to The Batavian's Facebook page. Despite that, a great number of people found the Shop Batavia page and liked it and a lot of people registered for the contest. The link on the graphic above is now corrected, and it is correct below.

Click Here to register and "like" Shop Batavia.

New York Times: U.S. Safety Board Urges Cellphone Ban for Drivers

As of 7 p.m., more than 450 children had arrived at the DiSalvo residence on Fargo Road in Stafford to see Jim DiSalvo's spectacular Christmas light show.

Jim said it was the biggest turn out ever. 

Boy Scout troops from throughout the region were a big part of the attendance.

This year, high school students earning community service credits conducted tours of the multi-acre light display.

I was able to get out and about after sunset this evening. Here's a few of the houses I photographed in all their Christmas light splendor.

Above, Vine Street.

Ellicott Street

Ellicott Place

Backyard, Ellicott Place

Ellicott Place

Trumbull Parkway

Elm Street

Elm Street

Elm Street

Bank Street

Bank Street

A Corfu resident is among four correctional officers from Attica who are accused of assaulting an inmate and then conspiring to cover up the alleged crime.

Keith Swack, 27, of Corfu, was indicted by a Wyoming County Grand Jury on charges of gang asault, 1st, conspiracy, 4th, tampering with physical evidence and official miscounduct.

The inmate allegedly assaulted suffered serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, including broken bones.

Also charged with Sean Warner, 27, of Belfast, Matthew Rademacher, 29, of Wyoming and Erik Hibsch, 28, of Gainsville.

All four men were arraigned in a Wyoming County Court and jailed on $25,000 bail each.

The four officers are accused of concocting a plan to assault an inmate and carrying out the assault on Aug. 9. The men are accused of then preparing false physical evidence to help conceal the crime. 

Warner is also accused of submitting false statements concerning the events to his superiors. Warner is also charged with offering a false instrument for filing.

The indictments followed a four-month investigation by State Police, the Inspector General's Office, and Department of Corrections.

Jackie Davis and Wayne Younge, of Summit Physical and Occupational Therapies, spent their hour ringing a bell for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign dressed as a present and Christmas tree. The duo said they usually dress up for their hour at the kettle, but this year when they found out the would be ringing together, they decided to develop a coordinated costume.

A dryer fire has been reported at Genesee Community College on the main campus.

An evacuation is in progress.

Town of Batavia Fire Department is dispatched to the main circle entrance.

UPDATE 9:21 a.m.: Genesee County Emergency Services on scene. Building evacuated. Fire units told to use service entrance. The dryer is near the loading dock.

UPDATE 9:26 a.m.: Fire is out.