thebatavian

It's a Deal of the Day grab bag -- join The Batavian Club now and we'll mail you a free, bonus gift certificate from a local restaurant. We'll randomly select a gift certificate from what we normally sell for deal of the day.

The value will be either for $20 or $25.

This is savings to you on top of the $303 in gift certificates you'll receive in your membership package.

If you would rather phone in your credit card information to (585) 250-4118, the noon deadline applies. If mailing a check or your credit card information, the membership form must be received no later than Saturday's mail drop at our office.

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Earlier this month I posted a notice that we're changing services for selling photos. At the end of this month, photo sales through the old service will no longer be available and because of the massive amount of work involved, I won't be transferring those three years worth of photos from one server to the other.

To ensure everybody has one last chance to buy prints of photos of events we covered in the past three years, I've greatly reduced the prices on the old service.

To view the photos and make print purchases, click here.

Event photos and slideshows created since early December were put on howardowensphotography.com and can be accessed by clicking here. The prices for these prints represent the new pricing structure and we've gotten nothing but positive feedback from people who have made purchases through the new service.

Billie and I returned to Batavia just a little while ago.

We want to thank Alecia Kaus for filling in for us while we were in California. She did a great job. We also appreciate the help from WBTA.

We enjoyed seeing our family and a few friends in California -- we visited Ventura, Bakersfield and San Diego (staying in El Cajon).

We're also glad to be back home and looking forward to getting back into covering local news.

Of course, I made quite a few photographs during our trip.

Inset photo is sunrise in Ventura, taken Saturday morning from the Ventura Pier. We lived in Ventura from 1996 to 2005. Below is the Ocean Beach Pier. I lived in OB from 1986 to 1989 and co-published the community newspaper there (The Beacon).

In the morning, members of The Batavian Club will receive an e-mail with a coupon from T.F. Brown's for 15-percent off.

Join The Batavian Club by 8 p.m., Wednesday and receive the same coupon, which is good until Jan. 30.

The coupon is addition to the $285 in gift certificates members will receive to local businesses. For a list of participating businesses, click here.

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

We told you it was coming months ago ... and the day has finally arrived.

This afternoon, Billie and I board a plane in Buffalo and head off to California for a week.

We'll visit family in Ventura, Bakersfield and San Diego.

Alecia Kaus will monitor the scanner, handle breaking news and write a few other stories, so, dear readers, you're in good hands. We'll also pick up coverage from our news partner, WBTA.

And in the Digital Age, I'll never be far from The Batavian. I'm sure I'll have plenty of things to post over the week, maybe just not as timely as usual.

Nick Sabato will cover some sports for us.

Lisa Ace will be in the office all week (except Friday) during normal business hours to handle all of your advertising needs or sign you up for The Batavian Club. She can be reached at (585) 250-4118.

We're scheduled to return to Buffalo around noon on Jan. 20.

For the past three years, we've offered photos for sale through one particular site and a couple of months ago, we started selling photos through my photography site, howardowensphotography.com.

That is working pretty well, so I'm retiring the old photo sales site (so I no longer have to pay the hosting bill).

It would be a monumental task to transfer three years worth of photos from one site to another. So to ensure everybody who still might like to buy photos from the past three years a chance to buy those photos, I've drastically reduced their prices.

Click here to buy photos from the old site at ridiculously low prices. These photos will NOT be available for purchase after Jan. 31.

Of particular interest might shots from this past football season:

• Le Roy v. Hornel, Class C, Section V championship game
• Notre Dame vs. Avon, Class D vs. Class DD, Section V Playoff
• Notre Dame Section V Championship 2012
• Le Roy vs. Bath, Section V playoff game
• Elba vs. Bath, Section V Class C Quarter Final
• Le Roy vs. Holley, Section V Playoffs
• Notre Dame and Attica, football
• The 80th meeting of Cal-Mum and Le Roy
• Elba/Byron-Bergen at Attica, Genesee Region football
• Batavia Blue Devils and Hornell Raiders in Batavia
• Oakfield-Alabama Hornets at Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Genesee Region, Section V football
• Alexander at Elba/Byron-Bergen, Football, Section V

There are also:

• Oakfield Labor Days Parade 2012
• Batavia Downs Wiener Dog Race 2012
• Town of Batavia Fire Training, Dorman Farm House, Batavia Stafford Townline Road
• Downtown Batavia Wine Walk 2012

And again, click here, to access the home page for all of the event albums from the past three years.

As of this moment, we have 29 local businesses that will honor exclusive gift certificates mailed to members of The Batavian Club. The total value of those gift certificates is $285, while you can become a member of the club for as little as $50 a year ($60 a year if you just want to make a one-time payment).

Here's a list of the participating businesses and the value of each gift certificate you will receive as a member:

• Adam Miller Toy and Bicycles, $3
• Alex's Place, $5
• Alli's Cones and Dogs, $3
• B Town Taxi, $4
• Batavia Country Club, $5
• Batavia Muckdogs, Two free GA tickets
• Bed-N-Bones Pet Lodge, $5
• Center Street Smokehouse,$5
• City Slickers, $4
• Clor's Meat Market, $3
• CPR, $25
• Dan's Tire, $5
• The Detail Shop, $2
• En Garde, $5
• Floral Fantasies, $3
• Hardcor Audio, $20
• Mane Attraction, $5
• Main St. Pizza Company, $3
• Max Pies Furniture, $100 on $500 or more retail value
• Millennium Computer, $20 on $100 or more purchase
• R&D Outlet Center, $5
• R.W. Vapors, $5
• Salon VIP & Boutique, $5
• Salsa & Curry, $5
• Settler's Restaurant, $5
• Smokin' Eagle, $5
• Sweet Pea's, $2
• Valle Jewelers, $25 on $100 or more retail value
• West Main Wine and Spirits, $3

Some time around the end of January -- I hope -- we will send out the first mailing of membership cards and gift cards to members. The gift cards can be used anytime in the next year (one per household, must present your membership card at time of redemption and cannot be combined with other discounts, including The Batavian's Deal of the Day).

And as we announced the other day, members will also receive a voucher for two free general admission tickets to a Batavia Muckdogs' game (July 3 excluded).

I look forward to you becoming a member and helping to support The Batavian. And thank you to all of the participating businesses. Any businesses that would like to be included can contact me at (585) 250-4118.

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

You already love The Batavian. We appreciate your daily visits to our site and telling your friends about the stories you read here and supporting our sponsors. Now we're asking for your direct financial support. Reader support will help us grow and become better at what we do.

We've set up four membership tiers -- Subscribe to the club monthly as one person or as a household, or annually at either of those levels. 

Members receive a membership card, bumper sticker and a package of gift certificates to local businesses. We'll also occasionally e-mail you coupons from local businesses.

It's important to note, this isn't a subscription to read the site. Our stories remain free to read. This is a membership club with benefits (and we'll add benefits as it grows).

Join via PayPal below, or for annual and one-time memberships paid by check, click here to download this form (monthly, recurring payment memberships must be via PayPal or credit card. To pay by credit card, use the form, or call (585) 250-4118.

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

I'm excited to announce this this morning: Join The Batavian Club and receive two free tickets to a Batavia Muckdogs home game in 2013.

That's right, each member of the club will receive a voucher redeemable for two general admission tickets to any home game (July 3, excluded).

Also, we're up to $270 in gift certificate value for members redeemable at 26 different local businesses.

Join The Batavian Club and SAVE: Currently, members will receive $270 in gift certificates to local businesses -- far more value than the cost of the membership! (more info below).

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

Annual membership, one payment of $60
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual household membership, one payment of $120
Includes two membership cards, bumper sticker, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker, package of gift certificates to local businesses.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers, one package of gift certificates to local businesses.

A reader of The Batavian has helped another recover a ring lost the day after Christmas that was more precious than valuable.

Lynn Halicki posted a lost-and-found notice to The Batavian's "Announcements" section and another reader spotted it, called her and returned the ring.

"The ring really has no monetary value - just sentimental value," Halicki said in her post.

After getting her ring back, Halicki posted a comment and wrote, "It made me extremely happy and proud that there are so many GOOD people!!!!!!"

Some of you may have already noticed that certain people now, when they leave a comment on a story, have a little "club member" icon below their names.

This means these people have elected to help support The Batavian by becoming club members and we want to recognize their support.

The other change we've made is people who are not yet members will get a reminder to join every time they log into the site (our software, in a pattern I've never been able to figure out, occasionally asked people to reenter their usernames and passwords). After people enter their usernames and passwords, they will hit a screen that offers them the opportunity to continue with their login or join The Batavian Club. There is still no obligation to join the club to read news or comment on stories, but we want to remind people how important it is that they support our local news efforts.

Plus, members get benefits such as discounts at local businesses -- a monetary value that exceeds the cost of membership.

Join The Batavian Club and SAVE: Currently, members will receive $220 in gift certificates to local businesses -- far more value than the cost of the membership! (more info below)

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers.

Join The Batavian Club and SAVE: Currently, members will receive $220 in gift certificates to local businesses -- far more value than the cost of the membership! (more info below).

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers.

Top 15 most viewed posts for 2012:

• State health officials discuss outbreak of tics in Le Roy, but say they can't share the cause
• BREAKING: Jacquetta Simmons sentenced to five years in prison
• Teen killed in head-on crash on Route 33, woman seriously injured
• Angry mother confronts store employees she believes sold bath salts to her son
• Batavia woman's cause of death not yet known
• Four smoke shops on reservation raid by feds -- cigarettes, fake pot, bath salts seized
• Chris Collins wants to go to Washington to restore the American Dream
• Two people killed in Sunday morning accident
• Specialist questions scientific validity of Le Roy district's environmental reports
• DEA raids 420 Emporium in Batavia as part of nationwide assault on bath salt sales
• Attorney, young celebrity arrested in Pembroke on charges of DWI and prostitution
• Potentially dangerous synthetic drugs readily available in Genesee County
• Three members of Le Roy family jailed after scuffle with police
• Report: Cyberbullying at local high schools
• Woman accused of giving bath salts to minor allegedly said she thought it was OK

Look at how many of these stories The Batavian broke or brought you more information about than available in other news sources. The Batavian broke the story about Jacquetta Simmons at Walmart on Christmas Eve, 2011 and was in front of the competition as the story developed. The Batavian brought to light the local issues with bath salts and either broke stories or had stories the competition never even carried. The Batavian carried more in-depth stories that were widely read on the tic disorder issue in Le Roy. We work hard to bring you news about Genesee County. We ask that you support the effort by becoming a member of The Batavian Club.

In 2012, TheBatavian.com was visited 3.8 million times and we served up 5.5 million page views.

Top 10 most viewed stories for December:

• Teen killed in head-on crash on Route 33, woman seriously injured
• Person struck by vehicle in front of Batavia Downs, minor injuries, by Billie Owens
• BREAKING: Firefighters accused of bookmaking plead guilty to greatly reduced charge
• Car parked by St. Joseph's Cemetery reported to be a 'suspcious condition', by Billie Owens
• Jacquetta Simmons posts $50,000 bail
• Corfu teen dies in Orleans County crash Sunday night
• Weather related reports, Dec. 26
• Property between Lewiston and Main will be more than just a Tim Horton's
• Driver who died on Route 20 accident wasn't wearing a seat belt
• GCEDC board approves 2012 bonuses, raise for agency's CEO

If you've appreciated our coverage of Genesee County in 2012, help us grow in 2013: Become a member of The Batavian Club today. Club members will get at least $220 in savings at local businesses.

TO JOIN: Use PayPal buttons below, or to pay by check (annual only) or credit card, click here to download form. Or call (585) 250-4118 to pay by credit card.

Four-day sale on annual memberships: Join before midnight Monday, Dec. 31, either through PayPal or with a credit card set up on a recurring annual payment of either $50 or $100 and get a $10 rebate on your first year's dues.

We currently have about a dozen businesses that will provide gift certificates to club members with a total value of $220, plus we'll continue to e-mail out coupons to members.

Join today and save!

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers.

People ask me from time to time why we created The Batavian Club. The simple reason is, it's all about creating an ongoing business.

A newspaper makes money from retail advertising, from classified advertising and subscription fees.

For an online news site, we already know people are no longer willing to pay for classified ads and they don't want to pay for news.

Typically, then, that leaves one revenue source for an online news site: advertising.

Billie and I very much appreciate the revenue we get from our sponsors. It has allowed us to keep up with our bills and hire a single employee. We would like to hire more people, but the advertising pie is going to get only so big (and it's probably as big as it's going to get now).

That's where you come in: Help support The Batavian by becoming a member. The membership fee is less than a typical newspaper subscription.

Here's our promise of what we'll do for you in return: Not only will we work to make The Batavian better, we'll work to bring you real member benefits, primarily in the form of savings at local businesses.

Tonight we e-mailed coupons from three local businesses -- Valle Jewelers, West Main Wine and Spirits, and Southside Deli -- to our current members.

With these three coupons, plus the discounts previously available, members have achieved a potential savings of more than $50 (not counting the free calendar for annual members).

Here's the exciting part: We're working with local businesses to bring you even more savings. We are developing a membership package that will include gift certificates to local businesses. So far, 11 local businesses have agreed to participate. The total value of the gift certificates so far is $173. Over the next few weeks, I'll talk with more local business owners about participating (We'll announce details of the membership program in January; the first membership packages will go out when we reach 100 members (we're at 58 now)).

So, already, we can tell you, a membership in The Batavian Club more than pays for itself. If you love The Batavian, as many of you tell me everyday that you do, please help us become even better.

Here's how to JOIN:

Join via PayPal below, or for annual and one-time memberships paid by check or credit card, click here to download this form (monthly, recurring payment memberships must be via PayPal or credit card. To pay by credit card, use the form, or call (585) 250-4118.

Monthly Single Membership - $5 per month
Includes membership card and bumper sticker and entry into iPod Nano drawing.

Monthly Household Membership - $10 per month
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers and entry into iPod Nano drawing.

Annual Single Membership - $50 per year
Includes membership card, bumper sticker and entry into iPod Nano drawing.

Annual Household Membership - $100 per year
Includes two membership cards and two bumper stickers and entry into iPod Nano drawing.