Afternoon News Brief

At approximately 7:39 a.m. on Friday, February 24th, officers from the Batavia City Police Department and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department responded to a phone call in which a threat was made against John Kennedy Intermediate School. Statement from Chief Shawn Heubusch: “Even though Batavia schools are on break for the week, officers from both departments and the New York State Police immediately responded on scene as any type of threat of this nature is taken very seriously. As a precaution, officers checked all the schools in the city school district and schools across Genesee County to ensure the safety of students and staff. It is still early in our investigation, but we have determined the threat to John Kennedy Elementary School not to be credible. It has been reported that similar threats have been at other school districts across New York and nationally. We appreciate the cooperation and assistance of the Batavia City School District on this matter as we continue our investigation with our law enforcement partners at the local, state and federal levels on our investigation. People making these types of threats should know they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” . Superintendent Jason Smith said that all sports practices, events and club activities will continue as planned throughout the weekend with an increased police presence as a safety precaution.

 

In Orleans County Court, 40-year-old Joe Cortez of Batavia pleaded guilty to criminal contempt for violating an order of protection. He could face up to nine months in county jail when he is sentenced. However, Cortez is also facing a more serious charge of rape in Genesee County for allegedly having forcible sexual contact with a juvenile victim under the age of 17.

 

 

 

FROM THE GENESEE COUNTY SHERIFF: 27-year-old Brian Stachewicz of Batavia has been charged with offering a false instrument for filing, after allegedly showing intent to defraud the state by providing false information on a pistol permit application. He was released on an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in Batavia City Court on March 7th. ALSO: 49-year-old Michael Vanbuskirk of LeRoy is now charged with bail jumping after failing to appear in County Court, after being released on a felony charge. He turned himself in voluntarily within 30 days thereafter and was arrested and issued an appearance ticket to appear in Batavia City Court on March 7th. ALSO: 36-year-old Justine Wood of Batavia is charged with two counts of bail jumping after failing to appear in Stafford Town Court following her release on a criminal matter. Wood was arraigned in CAP Court and remanded to jail in lieu of $2,000 bail.

 

The Buffalo man who carried out a deadly shooting before opening fire towards a police car has pleaded guilty to multiple charges. Prosecutors say 28-year-old Nakeem Haynes killed 63-year-old Atlas Johnson in the area of Broadway and Sears Street back in June. Officers happened to be on patrol at the time of the homicide and Haynes later fired a gunshot that struck the windshield of a police cruiser, but didn’t injure anyone. He’s now facing a sentence of 80 years to life in prison.

 

 

Rochester police are still looking into multiple shootings in their city that resulted in a teenager being killed and two others getting hurt. The first shooting was on Saint James Street around 1:30pm yesterday and a 17-year-old boy suffered non-life threatening injuries. About an hour later, a teen was shot on Alphonse Street and died at the scene. Roughly 10 minutes after that shooting, another teen was hit by gunfire in the area of Lang and Remington Streets and rushed to a hospital. There is no word if these shootings are connected.

 

Governor Hochul is urging Congress, rail companies and federal regulators to take action to prevent future freight rail hazmat disasters. Following a derailment in Ohio earlier this month, the governor is calling for the expedited phasing in of safer tank cars for hazardous materials. She also wants braking regulations to be modernized and the use of electronically controlled pneumatic brakes to be increased so that derailments can be avoided. The governor is also pushing for additional funding for hazmat preparedness training and response.

 

New York taxpayers are being hit with a sky-high bill for Governor Kathy Hochul’s airplane and helicopter flights. Data dug up by the New York Post shows the governor took 210 flights operated by state police in her first year in office, costing taxpayers $271,000. The Post reports that many of those flights coincided with private events that appear to be fundraisers and campaign stops ahead of last November’s election. Hochul has previously said everything she does is cleared by ethics and follows state policies.

 

Buffalo Niagara International Airport is getting $7,000,000 (million) in federal funds to help pay for a project at the facility. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand say the money is coming from a program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Law. The funds will go towards covering a portion of the cost of rehabilitating the terminal’s aging HVAC system. The hope is that the renovation will both enhance air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Niagara Falls is lit yellow and blue in recognition of the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the war between Ukraine and Russia. An estimated 75,000 people have come to the U.S. from Ukraine since Russians launched their attack, including approximately 14,000 in New York through the federal government’s Uniting for Ukraine program. Approximately 28,000 New York residents, more than any other state, have volunteered to sponsor an individual. Governor Hochul also directed the Ukrainian flag to be flown over the New York State Capitol building in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

 

Assemblyman Steve Hawley tells us he’s disappointed by Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon’s decision to move forward with the previously proposed reduction in the farm worker overtime threshold. The Department earlier this week approved the measure, which has been hotly debated for a number of years. Hawley is concerned about what this will mean for the future of New York farmers. He says that the burden of this mandate will cause many small family farms to fail. (2019 photo, from Steve Hawley’s website)

 

 

 

The Buffalo Sabres have avoided a 2nd straight loss after picking up a huge win on the road against one of the best teams in the NHL. Tage Thompson had three goals, his 4th hat trick of the season – while Jack Quinn, Ilya Lyubushkin and Zemgus Girgensons also scored as the Sabres beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-5 in overtime last night. With the win, Buffalo now has 62 points and sits in 6th place in the Atlantic Division. The next game for the Sabres is tonight against the Florida Panthers; the puck drops at 7:00.

 

The Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots are on the rise again and have a combined total prize of $245,000,000 (million). The jackpot up for grabs in tonight’s Mega Millions drawing is $126,000,000 (million). And whoever chooses the winning numbers for Powerball tomorrow night will be depositing $119,000,000 (million) into their bank account. Both drawings will be streamed live online. Please play responsibly.