Afternoon News Brief

32-year-old Marquis Saddler of Rochester and 28-year-old Kara Sass of Batavia have been arrested. This followed a traffic stop late last week on West Main Street; the pair was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia. Both were issued an appearance ticket and the vehicle was towed from the scene. Saddler and Sass are scheduled to appear in City Court on February 9th.  ALSO:  30-year-old Evan Vanskiver of Brockport has been arrested in Batavia. He is alleged to have been in possession of a controlled substance. During a traffic stop, a K9 (Rayzor) was called in and alerted police to the presence of narcotics. Vanskiver faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was issued an appearance ticket and will return to Batavia City Court on February 26th.

 

 

35-year-old Jeffrey Johnson of Oakfield has been indicted on 10 charges, including one where he overdosed and then threatened nurses at Wyoming County Community Hospital. He has a long history of drug and domestic-violence related arrests. Other current charges against Johnson include injecting fentanyl into a woman who had an order of protection against him. In court during arraignment, he entered a not guilty plea and the case was adjourned until March.

 

 

 

37-year-old Brian Daggar of Elba has been charged with petit larceny after allegedly stealing merchandise from a department store at 4140 Veteran’s Memorial Drive. He was released on an appearance ticket and will appear in the Town of Batavia Court on February 28th.

 

 

State Police have released the names of the two people who lost their lives due a crash in Chautauqua County. Troopers say 30-year-old Matthew Berry was driving the wrong way on Interstate 86 in Ellicott Saturday night when his vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck. The pickup truck was then hit from behind by another vehicle. Berry died at the scene and the driver of the pickup truck, 57-year-old Todd Town, passed away at a nearby hospital. The investigation into the accident is ongoing.

 

According to Triple A today, the national average price for a gallon of gas is $3.51. The state average is $3.57. In Batavia, we’re paying $3.44 per gallon, up 5 cents from a week ago and 13 cents from a month ago today. By the way, one year ago today, our local price was $3.51 for a gallon of regular gas.

 

Advocates in the state are trying to build momentum for a bill that would once again expand New York’s bottle deposit law. The proposal would broaden the existing law, first enacted in 1983, by allowing more types of beverage containers to be covered, such as wine and liquor. The measure would also increase the amount of the deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents. (Photo by Doug Thompson, WBTA News)

 

 

Irondequoit police are looking into the distribution of what they’re calling concerning materials in one of their community’s neighborhoods. Officials say flyers with anti-Semitic messaging were spotted in the driveways of several homes in the Laurelton section of the town over the weekend. The flyers reportedly had a comment on them about how Jewish people are negatively affecting society. Anyone with information on this case is asked to dial 911 right away.

 

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, and the New York State Department of Health is stressing the importance of screening appointments and getting the HPV vaccine. The acting health commissioner says screenings are the first line of defense against the disease and that early detection is key. Smoking has been shown to increase a person’s chances of getting cervical cancer and other risk factors include giving birth three or more times and using birth control pills for five years or more. To find out how to get a free or low-cost screening, visit health.ny.gov.

 

 

CVS and Walmart are both cutting pharmacy hours and closing some locations earlier due to staffing shortages. Both companies have announced that starting in March, they will scale back hours at their pharmacies as the industry battles a shortage of pharmacists and other key positions. CVS is adjusting hours at about two-thirds of its retail pharmacies. And in the coming weeks, Walmart is planning to reduce pharmacy hours by closing at 7:00pm instead of 9 at most of its stores.

 

 

The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs are set to meet in this year’s Super Bowl. Kansas City punched its ticket with a dramatic home win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. Earlier Sunday, Philly took down the San Francisco 49ers at home to secure the NFC crown. Super Bowl 57 is set for February 12th in Glendale, Arizona. If you want a ticket for the big game get ready to shell out some big money. Top priced tickets are going for over 33 thousand dollars. Even the cheap seats are extremely pricey with the cheapest seat available being 4500 dollars.

 

 

Another Powerball drawing has come and gone without a winner and the jackpot has now surpassed the $600,000,000 (million) threshold. The top prize for tonight’s drawing is going to be at least $613,000,000 (million). There hasn’t been a Powerball jackpot winner in several weeks. The drawing will be streamed live at powerball.com. Please play responsibly.