Morning News Brief
Written by Michael Baldwin on January 13, 2021
A Batavia woman is facing drug and other counts after she was pulled over in the Wyoming County Town of Sheldon for traveling more than 20 mph above the posted speed limit. During the traffic stop, 30-year-old Tawnya Muscato was allegedly found in possession of five bags of suspected Fentanyl and multiple pieces of drug use and drug packaging paraphernalia. Muscato also performed poorly on roadside field sobriety testing and was taken to the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office for processing. Muscato was subsequently charged with Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree, and Speed in Zone.
A Batavia man was jailed in Livingston County after he was accused of committing a felony crime. Deputies there arrested 35-year-old Norman Michael Jr. He was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class D felony. He was arraigned and jailed without bail. He’ll appear in Town of Nunda court on January 21.
Six House Republicans Tuesday introduced a censure resolution accusing President Trump of violating his oath of office by attempting to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election and by sparking a riot at the Capitol with his continued lies about the election. The censure resolution affirms that President-elect Joe Biden won the election and says Trump “gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government.” The GOP effort — led by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Tom Reed of New York– is seen as a middle ground offer by the GOP to call out Trump’s behavior while stopping short of an impeachment trial that could further fracture the country. In a statement, Reed said “This is an important step to hold the president accountable.”
The City of Batavia Water Department is making repairs to a water main break in front of 142 Pearl Street. Work should be completed by 3:00 pm. The water will be turned off on Pearl St. from 100 Pearl to the western City line. This could result in low water pressure condition for some residents. Other residents in the area may experience discolored water, which should return to normal once repairs are complete. Residents should check to make sure water clarity has returned before resuming activities such as laundry, which may be impacted.
Genesee County received 79 new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 3,135 positive cases. 21 of the current positive individuals are hospitalized. Two more people have died. They were residents at Genesee Senior Living. Orleans County reports 100 news cases; Wyoming County reports 15 new cases.