One of the objections I often hear to the need for us all to "shop local first" is that "big boxes create jobs, too."

That's true. They may not be good paying jobs, or may lack benefits and job security may be a fiction, but they are jobs.

They're not jobs as good as those that have been displaced by the big boxes, particularly the manufacturing jobs driven off shore by demands for ever cheaper products, but they are jobs.

But the most important counter argument to "they create jobs, too," is that shopping local creates more jobs.

I recently came across this 2008 study commissioned by a shop local group in Michigan that found if just 10 percent of the consumers in their county made buying local a priority, it would result in an estimated $140 million in new economic activity, 1,600 new jobs, and $50 million in new wages.

That's because when you support a locally owned business, more of your money is staying in the community rather than being shipped off to some corporate headquarters in another state.

In a recession, in a Western New York economy battered by manufacturing job losses and a mismanaged Albany, shouldn't we all be doing our best to support the local economy first? If can't depend on each other, who can we depend on? There's no quick-fix coming from Albany or Washington. It's up to us.

So, whenever possible (and I realize for a number of reasons, it isn't always possible), shop local first. The more you do, the more it helps.

And a majority of the local businesses that need your support are sponsors of The Batavian, so when you patronize the businesses below, you're doing two good deeds.

Thank you, the readers, and to the sponsors for helping to make 2010 a great year for Billie and I.

3 D Wine & Spirits
A.D. Call and Sons
Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle
Alberty Drug Store
Alex's Place
Alli's Cones and Dogs
Baker's Frontier Kitchens
Barrett's Batavia Marine and Sporting Supplies
Batavia Downs
Beds 'n' Bones Pet Lodge
Blue Pearl Yoga
Bontrager's Auction
Bontrager's Real Estate
Carlson's Studio
CASA
Cedar St. Sales and Rentals
Center Street Smokehouse
Christiano Cellular
Classic Home Improvements
Clor's Meat Market
Crazy Cheap Cars
D&R Depot Restaurant
The Daily Grind
Dan's Tire
Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern
Dupont TV
Empire Tractor
The Enchanted Florist
Fastec Automotive
Ferrellgas
Foxprowl Collectibles
Genesee County Emergency Services
Genesee Dental Group
Genesee Graphics
Gilmartin
Habitat for Humanity
Hair Studio 25
Hardcor Audio
H.E. Turner & Co.
Holy Family School
I.R. Systems
The Insurance Center
J. Leonard McAndrew
John's Service Station
Ken Barrett
KleenAll
Kraving's Kafe
Lamb Family Medicine
Larry's Steakhouse
Lathan Tree Service
Lawley Genesee
Lewis and Lewis
Licata Chiropractic
Main St. Pizza Company
The Mane Attraction
The Manor House
Margarita's 
Mark Lewis Agency
Matteo & Mullen, CPA
Matty's Pizzeria
Max Pies
Michael Tomaszewski
Millennium Computer
Mobile Dog Grooming
Mr. Wine & Liquor
Next Level Fitness
O'Lacy's Irish Pub
Oliver's Candies
Optique
Pauly's Pizza
Pellegrino Auto Sales
Pheasants on the Flats
Present Tense Books
Pudgie's Lawn and Garden Center
P.W. Minor
Red Osier
Roxy's Music
Russell Marchese, DDS
Scratch Bakery
Select Collision
Settler's
Sloat Tire
South Beach
South Main Country Store
Stafford Trading Post
Southside Deli
Spray In Insulation
Terry Hills
T.F. Brown's
Topline Shirt Company
Valle Jewelers
West Main Wine & Spirits
WNY Blacktop Sealers
WNY Fireplace Outlet
Yasses Snow Removal

James Vincent Kwiatek, 19, of Allegheny Road, Darien, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and menacing, 2nd. Kwiatek is accused of getting out of a vehicle, walking up to another occupied vehicle and using a knife to slash its tires.

Alexis Ashley Figuereo, 23, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Figuereo is accused of stealing an Xbox 360 and a BIC lighter while employed at Kmart.

Philip Niccloy, 23, of Summit Street, Le Roy, is charged with reckless endangerment, 2nd, criminal mischief, 2nd. Niccloy was arrested by Brockport PD and accused of firing an arrow through a window of a house that lodged into a living room wall. There were children home at the time, although nobody was injured. (Source: D&C)

Calling it a "terrible, terrible crime against little girls," Genesee County Court Judge Robert C. Noonan today sentenced one-time community fundraiser Gary Draper to two four-year consecutive state prison terms for sexually abusing three Batavia girls.

Draper previously pled guilty to two counts of sexual abuse in the first degree after being charged in July with three counts of sexual abuse, 1st, five counts of criminal sexual act, 1st, and two counts of sexual abuse, 2nd.

The crimes were committed between August 2008 and May 2009.

The mother of one of the victims spoke in court about how Draper took advantage of his friendship with the girls and how her daughter is now afraid of men.

"She lost all her trust and doesn’t understand why this happened to her," the mother said. "I want to let her know how brave she is to come forward for herself and her friends. She needs some closure. She needs to know that justice will be served for her."

Draper made a short statement saying, "I'd like to to say I didn’t intent that to happen and I don’t know why it happened and I can assure you it won't happen again. I'm very sorry."

Noonan said he didn't believe it wouldn't happen again.

"One thing that comes across loud and clear is that Mr. Draper does not understand the seriousness of the crimes he’s committed," Noonan said. "If anything, it punctuates it more strongly for him to stand here before me today and say he didn't mean this to happen. There is no other interpretation of the conduct of Mr. Draper than he intend it to happen for his own sexual gratification. And for that, the world deserves protection."

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman asked for the maximum sentence, two consecutive seven-year terms.

Public defender Jerry Ader took issue with a Probation Department report that declined to support a probation-based sentence because Draper wouldn't submit to a full interview with probation officers. Ader said Draper gave a full interview to a qualified sexual behavior specialist and that Ader told Draper not to talk with probation, which probation acknowledged in its own report.

Ader asked for Draper to be released on probation, in part because of Draper's previous community work and his lack of any prior criminal record.

"He deserves a community sentence and I think he can succeed on a community sentence," Ader said.

Draper was known far and wide for his efforts to raise money for the American Diabetes Association, riding a three-wheel bike all over Genesee County and beyond to collect donations.

Over about a 15-year period, Draper raised more than $100,000 for ADA.

On Thanksgiving 2009, Draper's bike was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Center Street, and Draper suffered serious head and hip injuries. His bike was destroyed in the accident and later replaced by a group of local business leaders.

With eight years in prison and 10 years of supervised release after his terms, Noonan said that perhaps the 57-year-old Draper will be at an age that he's no longer a threat to the community.

Here's a news release sent today from the NY Farm Bureau.

ALBANY -- Dean Norton, a dairy farmer and agricultural consultant from Elba, was re-elected as president of New York Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, during the organization’s state annual meeting in Melville, Long Island.

“I am proud to have the opportunity to continue to lead this organization as we face a time of tremendous challenges in the agricultural community,” Norton said. “It’s an opportunity to make a difference in the ability of our farms to continue into the next generation.

"We face both unparalleled challenges and unparalleled opportunities, and need to find better ways, quickly, to maximize the connection between New York farmers and New York consumers, in order to keep the next generation farming.”

Norton is a senior agriculture consultant for Freed, Maxick & Battaglia in Batavia. His family dairy farm also manages a custom trucking operation for forage and commodity harvesting.

He has served as New York Farm Bureau’s president since 2008. His term lasts two years.

New York Farm Bureau is a statewide agricultural organization that represents nearly 30,000 member families.

Photo: File photo of Dean Norton.

My second Christmas video features the talented students of John Kennedy, Robert Morris, Alexander elementary and Pembroke Intermediate schools.

Some quick background on Pembroke Intermediate: For several years, chorus teacher Andy Clark has made a yearly tradition of reserving a spot in Pembroke Choralier Christmas concerts for "Christmas Sing-alongs," during which former choraliers are invited to come up and sing with the group. You will be able to see them up on the stage, behind all of the current choraliers, during the sing-along segments.

Stay tuned for part 3!

If you missed part 1, click here.

After extinguishing a car fire at 1364 Church St., Alabama, last night, volunteer firefighters made a sad discovery -- the body of the 60-year-old man who lived at that address was found in the car.

Sheriff's officials believe the car of Harry C. Kramer IV, became stuck in the snow as he was trying to pull out of his driveway. Kramer apparently suffered some sort of medical event that left him with his foot stuck on the accelerator. The engine then apparently overheated, starting the fire.

The car fire was called in at 9:55 p.m. and Alabama Fire was dispatched.

Kramer's body was found by firefighters in the driver's seat of the vehicle after the fire was put out.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office is investigating Kramer's exact cause of death. Coroner Jack Taylor pronounced Kramer dead at the scene.

Here's a news release from the Friends of Robert Morris Elementary School.

Robert Morris Elementary School is in the top 20 going for a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant for the month of December.

We need to be in the top 10 by Dec. 31 and could use your help. Please vote for us by texting to: 73774 and in the message box type 104607, and hit send. It's that easy.

You can also vote through Facebook and through the link: www.refresheverything/robertmorrisplayground.com

The grant money will be used for a new playground. It is truly going to benefit the entire community of Batavia, making it handicap accessible and friendlier for our younger children.

What a great and easy way to earn 50K without a cost to our taxpayers. Please help us support our children of this community. Vote today and everday (each person can vote 3x per day Facebook, text and refresh link).

Thank you for your continued support!

Your Friends of Robert Morris School

Most view posts for November

• Pedestrian killed in Pavilion, by Billie Owens
• Local Dem arrested after Republican legislator accuses him of harassing phone call
• Alexander couple accused of sex act in public view
• York Road fire victims victimized again by overnight thieves
• Apparently, Carl Paladino was in town
• DA's office moving forward with political harassment charge, but new judge needed first, by Billie Owens
• Chris Charvella Case: Putting a comment in context
• Fully involved house fire on York Road, Le Roy, by Billie Owens
• Owner who built log house loses home to fire in Le Roy
• Sex offenders dislocated by fire have registered new addresses

For November, The Batavian had 243,401 visits and 450,754 page views.

A two-car accident with minor facial injuries reported at the intersection of Buffalo Street Road and Bowen Road, Alexander.

Alexander Fire and Ambulance dispatched.

Batavia was hit with a good bit of snow from about 6 to 8 p.m. Above, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Ellicott Street, Batavia, during the storm.

The lake effect storm warning remains in effect until 6 a.m., but the radar map shows the heaviest bands hovering to the west of Genesee County.

The hourly forecast for Thursday has partial clearing around noon, but then more snow in the mid-afternoon.

Just as he's been doing annually for the past several years, Santa (and Mrs. Claus) made a pre-Christmas stop at Jim DiSalvo's home on Fargo Road, Stafford.

More and more of Genesee County's kids are finding out, the place with all the lights is a good spot to find Santa about this time of year.

As usual, numerous Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts made the trip to Fargo Road, but DiSalvo's home on the night of Santa's visit is open to all the children who stop by.

Above, posing with Santa and Mrs. Claus are Grace Kibler, 10, Reagan Bifarella, 8, Jacquie Kibler, 8, and Libby Kibler, 5.

More pictures after the jump:

Jim DiSalvo and Annabella.

Instructor Jen Reardon shows of an example of a type of Christmas tree ornament members of a crafts class at Richmond Memorial Library were making Tuesday evening. It's part of an ongoing series at the library and was open to about a dozen people who signed up (first come, first served). The cost was $6 for materials.

Below, Bonnie Raduns and Erin Martin work on their ornaments.

Valene M. Blackwell, 27, of 27 Tracy Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of property, 5th. Blackwell was accused following an investigation by Det. Pat Corona into reports of items stolen from parked cars in the city.

Natalie N. Pitt, 25, of 50 Water St., Attica, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and criminal contempt. Pitt was arrested following an investigation by Det. Rich Schauf in connection with an alleged incident on Dec. 3. No further details released.

Patrick R. McFadden, 26, of 12 Montclair Ave., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. McFadden is accused of pushing another person several times. He was also arrested on a bench warrant related to an aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, charge. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Brennan S. Larnder, 19, of 5 Montclair Ave., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Larnder is accused of pushing another family member under age 17 during a domestic incident.

Richard C. Greene, 28, of Wyoming, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and possession of a hypodermic instrument. Greene was arrested by State Police at 2:30 p.m., Monday, at 13 S. Main St., Batavia. Greene was held without bail. No further details released.

Some bands of lake effect snow could drop as much as 18 inches of snow on some parts of Western New York between now and 6 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

The primary areas for the warning are Orleans and Genesee counties.

Winds are expected to hit 15 to 25 mph. Gusts will be up to 35 mph.

Visibility will be reduced to less than a quarter of a mile at times in some places.

NWS warns of difficult travel conditions during the storm.

The Office of Emergency Services will test the reverse 9-1-1 system at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

If you receive a call, no response is necessary.

The test will be coordinated with the Sheriff's Office and the Emergency Dispatch Center.

The test will also include test alerts through the NY-Alert system. Anybody can sign up for alerts through nyalert.gov.

NY-Alert provides individuals with messages either via phone, text, RSS, fax, pager or e-mail of incident-specific emergency messages or impending road closures and weather issues.

The service is free.

If you have a question for Congressman Chris Lee, he will be available online to answer it for you at noon today, but to ask it, you'll need to have an account on the popular social networking service Twitter.

Lee announced that he is holding a "Twitter Town Hall" today, and through his Twitter account @chrislee_ny26 he has said questions have already started flowing in.

Lee has 2,086 followers on Twitter.

People with or without Twitter accounts can follow the conversation through the hash tag #askchris.

People who ask questions of Lee should direct them to @chrislee_ny26 and tag them with #askchris.

Twitter has gained wide popularity around the world for its ability to allow friends and associates to quickly share information even though messages are limited to 140 characters.

In a press release, Lee's staff says the congressman has held some 30 town hall meetings during his first term either in person or by telephone. This is his first Twitter Town Hall meeting.

Lee's office also maintains accounts on YouTube, Facebook and Picasa.

Once again on Monday evening, Batavia City Council members debated the future of the Falleti Ice Arena -- whether to sell it, or not; whether it makes money, or not; whether it's a vital service to the community, or not.

Councilman Tim Buckley indicated he's had enough.

The city is facing some big and tough budget decisions in the near future, and the council has a lot on its plate. Enough, he said, of debating Falleti Ice Arena.

“I don’t want to make this out as not an important issue, but I want to move away from this issue," Buckley said. "I want to get this thing done. I think as a council we have to realize we’ve got our hands full."

Buckley's suggestion: Have City Manager Jason Molino sit down with Firland, the management company currently running the ice arena, and see what kind of new lease terms can be arranged and bring that proposal back to the council.

After Buckley's opening statement, Councilman Bob Bialkowski said he's been doing the math, and he believes, all things considered, the city is losing thousands of dollars a year on the ice arena.

Bialkowski said he figures the city has expenses related to the ice arena in the range of $53,000, but only gets back in the neighborhood of $40,000. 

City Manager Jason Molino said there are other variables involved, and some of the expenses wouldn't go away if the arena is sold -- such as debt service.

Councilman Bill Cox said he doesn't believe there is any way the city benefits financially from ownership of the arena.

"What’s in it for the taxpayers?" Cox said. "I don’t think anybody on this council, at least not in my hearing, thinks that we’re against the ice arena that we want it to close. ... I don’t want it to close -- I think it’s a great asset to the city. But it should be privatized.

"We’re talking about privatizing it, not closing it. When you privatize it, guess what, you lose control. Do you have any control over the guy who buys your house, what color he paints it after you leave? Of course not."

Councilman Frank Ferrando said while he was once in favor of selling the arena, he's gotten so much feedback from constituents that the city should keep it, that's who he is going to listen to.

"The vast majority of people in this community like the ice rink the way it is, with the city owning it, leasing to Firland," Ferrando said. "I don’t even know what the advantage would be to the taxpayer in the long run if we sold it."

With Cox, Bialkowski, Rosemary Christian and Sam Barone voting no, the council referred the matter to City Manager Jason Molino to see what can be worked out with Firland.

Near the end of the discussion, Cox suggested that WBTA, The Batavian and the Batavia Daily News all run surveys to find out what local residents want done with the arena. After the meeting, we showed Cox the results of an Oct. 26 poll on The Batavian (a totally unscientific poll, we noted) that showed only 22 percent of the respondents supported selling the arena no matter what. Cox's response: "Wow."

City Council President Marianne Clattenberg got a little worked up at Monday night's council meeting during a discussion of a proposed local property-tax cap that some Albany politicians are pushing.

“Why do they need us?" Clattenberg said. "They’re going to tell us what we can charge for property tax and then they’re going to tell us what we have to pay. They don’t even need local governments. They want control of everything. Albany is crazy right now.

"This whole sham of a property-tax cap is just a political ploy by the governor’s office to act like they're for the people," Clattenberg added. "So they say one thing to the people and then go the other way to stab them in the back."

At issue was a proposed resolution to send a message to Albany politicians, "no tax cap without mandate relief." The resolution will state that the legislature shouldn't approve a property-tax cap without eliminating mandated expenses.

A vote to place the resolution on the next council business agenda passed 6-3, with Rosemary Christian, Bob Bialkowski and Bill Cox voting no.

Cox argued that the city should be ready to make any spending cuts necessary without tax increases.

"We have other things we can cut," Cox said. "We need to give our property owners and our citizens tax relief. We can’t do it to them unless we take a stand, draw a line in the sand say, 'no more taxes.'"

Councilman Frank Ferrando said he was concerned that if a tax cap is enacted without mandate relief, the city will be forced to cut vital city services and eliminate key city jobs.

Albany, Ferrando said, shouldn't be dictating to local governments how to raise and spend money.

"If we're forced into that situation that could create real problems for our community," Ferrando said. "If we're in a situation where we need to make those decisions, that’s different. We will be making those decisions. We will make those hard decisions, but they shouldn’t be making them for us."

City Manager Jason Molino said mandated expenses on employee pensions, health insurance and health costs continue to escalate. Next year, for example, the city is looking at a $361,000 increase in mandated retirement benefit costs, and under the property-tax cap proposal, taxes could only go up by $72,000, leaving a $289,000 shortfall.