Weekend News Brief

A pair from Rochester were stopped in Bergen and found to be driving a stolen car Thursday.  39 year old Ryan Bufano and 35 year old Jenna Psomiadis, both from Rochester, were caught driving a stolen 2009 Chevy Impala. They were charged with criminal possession of stolen property over 3000 dollars and criminal possession of a controlled substance as it is alleged that several bags of cocaine were found in the car as well.  They were taken to Genesee county jail to await arraignment. 

Senator George Borello along with 14 other republicans are asking Governor Hochul to drop the electric bus mandate for public schools or to give the schools all the money they need to make the switch.  In a letter sent to the governor Friday the senators argue that schools can’t possibly meet the cost of replacing their entire fleet of buses by 2027.  An electric schoolbus costs 3 times as much as a gas powered bus and it is estimated the cost to replace the entire fleet of 45,000 school buses across the state would cost 15 billion dollars more than schools have budgeted for buses over the next 4 years.  Borello says that the state has announced 100 million dollars in grants for buses, which won’t even cover 1 bus for each school district.  He also points out that during the winter the buses will have dramatically reduced range as cold temperatures mean less charge in the batteries and that the buses are too heavy for many bridges.  

Are you ready for some Christmas music?  Check out 2 churches doing cantatas this Sunday.  At 10:30 in the morning East Bethany Presbyterian Church is having their program, “A Simple Christmas” and invites everyone to join them.  A coffee hour will follow the program.  Emmanuel Baptist Church in Batavia is having their Annual Christmas Cantata “The First Noel” at 2pm on Sunday with the church choir and friends from the community.  There will be a half hour hymn sing and a free dinner after the performance.  All are welcome to come, sing and eat as Debbie Prosser Music Ministry knows how to put on a show and a spread.

The water construction project that began in mid-November along a portion of downtown Bank Street is expected to be completed by the end of December, except for pavement restoration which will be on hold through the winter and be done in the spring.  The project included the installation of 932 linear feet of new 8-inch water main to replace existing 4- and 6-inch water mains on Bank Street from East Main Street to Washington Avenue.  This updated infrastructure will service the future police station to be built at the corner of Bank Street and Alva Place.

Rotary Club are doing their annual raffle fundraiser to win a Chevy Corvette.  The raffle raises money for United Memorial Medical Center, the YMCA and the YWCA and other local charities.  Tickets are $50 each or 3 for $100 with donations fully tax-deductible. The first prize is a new 2024 Chevrolet Corvette or $50,000 cash with ten additional prizes of $500 also being awarded. Only 4,500 tickets will be sold. The drawing will be held on January 19.  Tickets can be purchased from any Batavia Rotarian or online at www.bataviarotaryraffle.com.