Afternoon News Brief

The U.S. Marshals Service continues their search for a missing child who has been taken on the run by her fugitive mother. 35-year-old Adrienne Grace Marean was charged earlier this month by the Bridgeport Police Department in West Virginia for allegedly violating a Family Court Order. She had been ordered to transfer custody of a minor child last month and is believed to have fled that area with the child. Marshals have focused their efforts in locating the missing child and Marean in the Dunkirk and Fredonia areas in Chautauqua County; however, it’s possible she is somewhere else in the Western New York area. Marean is believed to be driving a gray Toyota Prius with New York license plate, JJR1907. She is described as a white female, approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing about 165 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Marean or the missing child is asked to call 9-1-1 immediately.

Nearly 162,000 pounds of select Skippy peanut butter products are being voluntarily recalled because some of the jars may contain small fragments of stainless steel. Skippy Foods announced the recall Wednesday evening, saying roughly 9,350 cases of three products with specific code dates are affected. The stainless steel fragments are from a piece of manufacturing equipment. According to Skippy, internal detection systems at the manufacturing facility were able to detect the equipment issue. And there have not yet been any reports from consumers about fragments found in the peanut butter. The list of affected products is available on today’s Afternoon News Brief page, by clicking ‘Local News’ under the Local News tab at WBTAi.com.

Below is a list of the affected products and their corresponding code dates, which are found on the top of the lid:

SKIPPY® Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter, 40oz Best if Used By MAY0423
Best if Used By MAY0523
SKIPPY® Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter – Club, 2/40oz Best if Used By MAY0523
SKIPPY® Reduced Fat Chunky Peanut Butter, 16.3oz Best if Used By MAY0623
Best if Used By MAY0723
SKIPPY® Creamy Peanut Butter Blended With Plant Protein, 14oz Best if Used By MAY1023

If you have one of the above products, you are encouraged to return it at the store you purchased it from, contact Skippy Foods Consumer Engagement at 1-866-475-4779, or visit the company’s website.

Legislators unanimously approved all the bids for the new Genesee County Jail project. Companies from Western and Central NY bid for a total of over $57 million dollars, which is 2.7 million dollars less than what was budgeted for the work. The Pike company had solicited the bids and county legislators were satisfied with the answers provided about the project. They are scheduled to break ground on May 9 on land next to County Building 2 on West Main Street Road. Work will take place over 20 months; they hope to be finished by January 2024.

The number of new confirmed Covid cases in Genesee and Orleans counties remains at a low level. For the last 7 days, there were 33 new cases in Genesee, an increase of 10 from the previous week. In Orleans, the number of new cases was 25, the same as in the previous week. The federal CDC continues to rank the two counties as low for Covid community spread. Statewide the percent of Covid tests that were positive was 2.54%; the seven-day average for positive tests is 2.45%. Governor Hochul continues to advocate for getting tested if feeling sick and limiting exposure to others, when you’re ill. She also encourages New Yorkers to take advantage of the tools we have – getting vaccinated and boosted – to help limit infection and severe illness. A second booster shot is now available to adults 50 and older. Please check with your doctor to determine if it is appropriate for you.

Officials with the Better Business Bureau are warning Rochester residents and people who live in the region to be wary of an old scam that is making a comeback. It’s the card-skimming scam, and it involves placing a small device at the gas pump at a service station that captures credit card information when a card is inserted. Better Business Bureau investigators say signs to watch for include any indications that the card reader has been tampered with or if the card reader was placed over something. Attendants at the gas station may not have been aware their card readers have been tampered with, so it’s a good idea to alert them if you spot a device on one of their pumps.

New details are emerging about the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium agreement. Under the memorandum of understanding between the Bills, New York State and Erie County, the Bills will extend their current lease at Highmark Stadium on an annual basis until the new stadium is finished. Any necessary maintenance will be done by Erie County and the Bills, including inspections of the upper deck. The Bills can get out of the lease prior to the end of an extension if the stadium is finished before the end of the extension period, or if all sides agree there’s a health and safety risk at Highmark Stadium.

Rick Jeanneret – Sabres

The Sabres fell to the Winnipeg Jets last night in a shoot-out, 3-2. Buffalo moved to 24-33 and 11 overall this season, though they recorded their best March record in years at 8-3-and-3. They’re on their way to an 11th season without qualifying for the playoffs, which would be an NHL record. Not a desirable one, but a record none the less. Tomorrow night, the Sabres host the Nashville Predators. They’ll also celebrate the career of their longtime play-by-play announcer — Rick Jeanneret — before puck drop.

Catholic Health says it’s dealing with a data breach. Catholic Health System officials said yesterday about 13-hundred patients have been impacted by the data breach. (SIGH-ox) Ciox Health provides health information management services to Catholic Health. Catholic Health says the situation involves unauthorized access of a Ciox employee’s email, and the patients impacted will receive a letter from Ciox Health.

33-year-old Roy Watson Jr. of Batavia was arraigned in Orleans County court for second-degree burglary and two counts of criminal mischief in the third degree. He allegedly entered a home on Park Avenue in Medina without permission and broke a window, door, doorframe and some household items. He pleaded not guilty.

Amherst is getting a Costco. The Office of the Amherst Supervisor says construction is expected to begin in spring of 2023. The big-box wholesaler will be built at the former site of Tony Roma’s restaurant on Ridge Lea Road across from The Boulevard Consumer Square. There are Costcos in Rochester and the Syracuse area, but this will be the first Buffalo-area Costco.