Afternoon News Brief

Orleans County Sheriffs have charged 31-year-old Alexander Gelo of Albion following a traffic stop on Ridge Road in the Town of Gaines. A deputy pulled over a vehicle known to be operated by Gelo who has an active warrant, charging him with criminal tampering with a witness and aggravated harassment. Gelo was taken into custody without incident. Further investigation found that he was in possession of a loaded 9mm handgun with a defaced serial number and over six ounces of marijuana. Gelo is a previously convicted felon. He is currently being held at the Orleans County Jail pending an appearance in Orleans County Court.

 

A court has temporarily blocked a repeal of New York’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for health care workers. The State Supreme Court Appellate Division granted the stay yesterday at the request of the state department. The state asked for the stay until the Appellate Division hears its appeal of a January 13th decision that struck down the vaccination mandate for nurses, doctors and other employees of hospitals and other health facilities. The health department contends it’s authorized under state Public Health Law to mandate vaccinations. In its appeal, the health department says it has required health care workers for decades to be immunized against contagious diseases such as measles and rubella.

 

For reasons of timing — and a short window to work with — conflicts with other events and a busy holiday weekend, the Wing Ding Committee has decided to postpone the resurrected event to next year; this, according to Assistant City Manager Erik Fix. Fix made the announcement to committee members today, citing reasons of vendors and other entertainment acts being booked already, the potential for difficulty in recruiting volunteers for a busy Labor Day weekend to correlate with the Air Show, a clash in timing with the veteran September festival Labor Daze in Oakfield, and the city not being in a position to set up as event planner. He expects planning for 2024 to begin in the next few months. The resurrected Wing Ding was made possible with leftover funds from the city’s Centennial Celebration. City Council had approved a transfer of $9,188 for a Wing Ding event to happen in conjunction with the resurrected Air Show.

 

 

A Catholic church in Lyndonville continues to pick up the pieces today. There was an early morning fire yesterday that started in a classroom of the Our Lady of the Lake – St. Joseph site. Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire, but early suspicions point to a wall heater. While the amount of damage is still being calculated, the classroom is destroyed and the church suffered extensive heat and smoke damage. However, there is no damage to the roof and the Diocese says they intend to repair the church. (Provided photo)

 

Although the weather might suggest otherwise, spring is fast approaching and coyote sightings will increase. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued guidance to help prevent conflicts between people and coyotes. They advise you should never feed them, don’t leave any food outside, feed pets indoors, enclose or fence off compost; if you see a coyote, be loud and aggressive towards it to scare it away and teach your kids to get away from it. And lastly, supervise pets and keep them indoors around sunset and at night.

 

A student at Monroe County Community College is in some legal trouble after being accused of having a gun on campus. Brighton police say 21-year-old Giovanni Paige-Mota had the loaded, stolen weapon inside of a classroom yesterday, but did not display it or make a threat towards anyone. He ended up being escorted from the classroom and taken into custody. Paige-Mota has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon and is due in court March 6th.

 

Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester is getting $50,000,000 (million) from the state to help cover the cost of an expansion project. The money will go towards increasing the size of the current emergency room, which is often overcrowded due to a high number of patients. Right now, there’s a semi-permanent tent structure set up at the hospital to address this issue. Plans are also in the works to build a new tower that’ll increase the number of available patient beds at the facility.

 

Food banks across New York State may start getting a bit busier today because of cuts to a federal program. The federal government put extra money toward the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that additional assistance ends today. Food assistance advocates expect longer lines at food banks in New York as a result. They are also concerned about Governor Hochul’s proposed budget that calls for cuts to a food bank related assistance program.

 

The Buffalo Sabres have had their three-game winning streak snapped after suffering a tough loss on home ice. Tage Thompson, JJ Peterka, and Jack Quinn each had a goal as the Sabres fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-3 at KeyBank Center last night. Buffalo goaltender Craig Anderson struggled in net and was only able to stop 31 of the 35 shots he faced in the contest. The next game for the Sabres tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden Arena; the puck drops at 7:00.

 

 

Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is going to be taking a break from coaching during the 2023 season. No reason was given for the decision and so far, the person who is going to replace Frazier hasn’t been named. The 63-year-old Frazier joined the Bills back in 2017, which is the same year Sean McDermott was made the head coach. Frazier is planning to return to coaching in 2024.

 

Officials at Six Flags Darien Lake say they are looking to hire 1000 employees to work at the popular amusement park this year. Among the positions that are available include ride operator, maintenance, lifeguard and security. Each job offers an hourly rate of $14.25 and benefits include discounts and free park admission for team members and their friends. Anyone who wants to apply can do so online at sixflags.com.