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Le Roy

Michael Perry of LeRoy goes to Friendly Home

By Philip Anselmo

LeRoy resident Michael Perry was named senior vice president and chief financial officer of the Friendly Home, a non-profit nursing care and rehabilitation center for aging adults. Perry has held positions with United Memorial Medical Center and the Genesee County Nursing Home in Batavia.

Friendly Home, established in 1849, is located on East Avenue in Rochester. It "offers a variety of health care services including 24-hour skilled nursing care, rehabilitation, and specialized care for individuals with Alzheimer’s and related dementias."

Oatka Festival in LeRoy this weekend!

By Philip Anselmo

So... the whole back page of the A-section in today's Daily News is devoted to coverage of two out-of-town festivals happening this weekend: a Taste of Buffalo and the Sterling Renaissance Fest. Both are fine guarantees of a good time, I'm sure. I know I plan to head down to Sterling later this summer. Probably for the Pirate Revel. Argh!

But we're here to say that you don't have to go that far.

LeRoy, everybody's favorite world capital of Jell-O, will be hosting its annual Oatka Festival this Saturday and Sunday. Buffalo and Sterling are both Thruway stops away. heck, you can almost throw a stone from Batavia and hit LeRoy.

LeRoy's Oatka Festival, held on the banks of the lovely Oatka Creek, began in 1989. Its organizers did all they could to ensure the event would be "an old fashioned community gathering" — and they've kept it that way ever since.

You could say the festivities kick off at 11:00am Saturday with a parade down Main Street in LeRoy. That same day, you can expect no less than a backyard family circus, a chicken barbecue, brass bands and "cookie song writing for kids" — not sure what that means but it sounds fun.

And that's just Saturday.

Sunday will keep the music going — including a high school talent show under the tent. For the readers out there, the Woodward Memorial Library will continue its used book sale throughout the weekend. Then, of course, there are the crafts, the food, the 5K Walk/Run and the Vietnam Veteran's Duck Derby.

Click here to download the full schedule of events as it was printed in the LeRoy Pennysaver, or check it out on the Web site.

"Stagecoach Days" in Le Roy & musings on community

By Lorie Longhany

 

Genesee County is a unique patchwork of small towns and villages surrounded by farms and rural countryside. Le Roy is one of the thirteen towns that make up this patchwork and it’s where I have lived most of my life.   While our towns and villages across Genesee have been in transition the past couple of decades due to globalization and the advent of retail strip malls and Wal-Mart’s our Main Streets have suffered immeasurably.  However, this past Sunday with the help of some pretty smart planning by some innovative people, Main Street in Le Roy came alive with a sea of activity.
From 1:00 – 5:00 P.M. Main Street closed to the bustle of Rte 5 traffic and a good old fashion street party commenced. The event was called Stagecoach Days – named for the horse drawn Stagecoach rides that were provided by the Eagle Hotel, a historic landmark and local watering hole.   This in itself was unique and appeared to be great fun. The planners of this event -- The Leader Group  (a group made up of merchants and civic leaders) along with the great people from the Eagle, thought of some other wonderful attractions to delight the senses. A classic car show and a DJ provided just the right entertainment and attraction value to keep people on the street enjoying the festivities for hours. Local restaurants and gift shops got in on the action and set up on the sidewalk offering their wares and tasty treats.
With the soaring gas prices and lifestyle change that will follow, one silver lining may turn out to be a new sense of community similar to what I remember growing up with in the 60’s and early 70’s. Our Main Street in Le Roy was a flurry of activity back then. Any need or want could and was found on Main Street. What I remember most was the camaraderie and sense that we were all connected in the fabric called community.   The shop owners knew and greeted all of us by name as we frequented their establishments. This was the true sense of a village and while we may never go back, maybe a new Main Street will emerge in the shadows of the end of cheap oil. This is what the first annual Stagecoach Days reminded me of. People will look for entertainment options closer to home and these community events give all of us an option to save gas money, get reacquainted with our friends and neighbors,  and have a great time in our own backyards. It also spurs more success for our shop keepers on Main Street.
A friend of mine and I participated as vendors, displaying our artwork in the alley, and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  I commend the Le Roy Leader Group and the Eagle Hotel for organizing such a great event and look forward to the 2nd annual Stagecoach Days. 

 

News Round Up: Le Roy eliminates village dispatch

By Howard B. Owens

From today's Daily News:

  • Scott DeSmit reports that Le Roy trustees voted Wednesday to merge its dispatch operations with the county. Trustees hope to transfer some jobs to county dispatch, but recognize that may difficult since Batavia agreed to the same consolidation previously and is already slated to transfer two jobs.
  • Cold War veterans may get a tax break. The County Legislature is pursuing a 10 percent tax credit on the first $60,000 of a home's accessed value for Cold War veterans.  The Batavian posted on this story two weeks ago.
  • Holli Gass, 17, when she graduates from Pembroke High School, will represent the fifth generation from her family to graduate from a school in the Pembroke district.  Kristen Kotz, a Daily News intern, wrote a nice feature story on the family.  It's the center package of today's paper.  Nice clip, Kristen.
  • The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council at 201 E. Main St. will host a "Building a Vibrant Community Identity" workshop from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., June 5.  It's all about "building a brand" that people remember is geared primarily toward non-profits, but writer Joanne Beck suggests that some commercial businesses are participating.  The deadline to register is Monday.
  • Hot Shot's Caffe has opened a second location at 56 Harveter Ave., according to an article on page A2.
  • Scott DeSmit passes along a reminder from fire officials to check your smoke detector.  You want to make sure your smoke detector doesn't have a dead battery or otherwise won't function properly in an emergency.
  • A letter to the editor from Rose M. Ruhlman praises Lt. Eugene Jankowski and questions the wisdom of passing him over for the chief-of-police role.  She makes good points.  The Batavian broke the story last week that Jankowski was apparently out of contention for top post.
  • Former Buffalo Bills guard Joe DeLamielleure will be at Terry Hills Golf Course from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday signing autographs.  Joe D. is in town for the Jim Kelly Celebrity Golf Classic, which takes place Monday at Terry Hills.
  • Former Batavian Patric Donaghue was inducted into the Rochester United States Bowling Association Hall of Fame.  Before moving to Rochester in 1981, Donaghue started his bowling career at Mancuso Lanes.

The Daily News is available at local news stands, including at Main Street Coffee, and you should subscribe, and can do so on the Daily News web site.

LeRoy crash claims life of Rochester man

By Howard B. Owens

A one-vehicle crash in LeRoy early this morning claimed the life of Gerhard McBride, 56, of Rochester, the Genesee County Sheriff's office reported.

McBride was reportedly driving on Oatka Trail Road when his car left the road, struck a sign and several trees before coming to rest down an embankment.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by the coroner.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

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