Morning News Brief

Today is Election Day.  In Genesee County polls are open from 6am to 9pm.  There are only a handful of contested races locally.  In the city of Batavia, there are four candidates running for three city council -at-large seats.  At the county level, there are elections for County Court Judge, District Attorney and all nine seats on the county legislature…all are Republicans and all are running unopposed.  There is a contested race for Bryon Town Supervisor: Peter Yasses the incumbent is opposed by Gerald Heins.  In LeRoy, five candidates are vying for two seats on the town board,  There is one seat to be decided for LeRoy Town Justice. Carol DeFrancisco is the endorsed Democrat while Tom Freely is conducting a write-in campaign.  Bethany will elect two Town justices from a field of four candidates.

Paid Family Leave is expanding in New York State and will now allow for individuals to care for siblings.  Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Monday to expand the law. Currently, the law covers caring for spouses, domestic partners, children and step-children, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents and grandchildren with a serious health condition.  The new law goes into effect January 1st.

You’ve seen them decorating the lamposts of Main Street for the Halloween season.  The Batavia Improvement District scarecrows made by businesses and organizations in Batavia. Well now they have been voted on and the winners picked.  The First Place Winner for 2021 is Veterans Services.  Second Place Winner is Charles Men’s Shop and Third Place goes to Eli Fish Brewing Co.  First place winner receives $100 cash prize, second place $75 and third place $50. The BID thanks Home Depot for sponsoring the scarecrows, the City of Batavia Fire Department for assembling the posts, and The Daily News for assisting with the voting process.

The sheriffs office has  announced that due to COVID-19 cases within the Genesee County Jail, Sheriff Sheron is suspending all visitations effective today until Nov. 22, tentatively.  This is a precautionary measure to prevent the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus to incarcerated individuals’ families and employees.

Tops Friendly Markets announced it will offer military personnel and their immediate families an 11% discount off their grocery bill on Veterans Day.  Customers will be asked to present proof of service that they, or an immediate family member are U.S. Veteran, active duty, reserve or retired military personnel to receive the discount.  Veterans Day is Thursday the 11th.

The price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Batavia is up a penny from last week to $3.46 a gallon.  The Average price in New York is 3.55 while the US average is 3.40.  The Triple-A reports the current average in Batavia is 21-cents a gallon higher than a month ago.  Gas Buddy is predicting that prices will level off this week and possibly start to drop soon.