Friday News Brief

Make plans to attend the Interactive Health Fair tomorrow at 80 Union Street with art projects, information to improve wellness, a teddy bear clinic, free vision screening and vouchers for chicken bar-b-q dinners. The fair is sponsored by Batavia Community Schools along with the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Genesee County and Madeline Bartz Mission, Incorporated. Busses will be running from 8:45 to 12:30 from multiple locations around the city.

 

 

 

A judge wants federal prosecutors to make a decision soon if they’re going to be seeking the death penalty against Payton Gendron. Gendron is the man who opened fire at a Tops store on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo last May, killing ten people and wounding three others. Federal prosecutors claim the next steps in the death penalty process will happen shortly and say discussions have involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Civil Rights Division. Gendron is already serving a life sentence on state charges.

 

 

A Rochester firefighter has been suspended following a search of a firehouse by the FBI. Investigators were at the Rochester Fire Department Engine Number Three building on Emerson Street on Tuesday. According to 13WHAM, electronics and a computer ended up being removed from the property. The firefighter is suspended with pay, but no charges have been filed against him.

 

 

 

The New York State Attorney General’s Office is making its election protection hotline available during the June primaries. Voters will be able to call during the early voting period, which starts tomorrow and runs through June 25th. The hotline will be open from 9:00am until 6:00pm to help voters troubleshoot issues they may be facing whether they’re voting in-person or using an absentee ballot. Primary Day itself is coming up on Tuesday, June 27th.

 

 

The teenage driver who was involved in a fatal crash with a stolen vehicle has pleaded guilty to multiple charges. The 16-year-old was traveling on the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo last year when they crashed near the Scajaquada Expressway. Five individuals in the vehicle were ejected, and four of them ended up losing their lives. The teen is facing prison time when they return to court in August.

 

 

After more than a decade of leadership and service to the institution, Genesee Community College President, Dr. James Sunser, announced that he intends to retire at the conclusion of the 2023-24 academic year. Sunser informed the campus community and thanked colleagues for being partners in always holding student success as the highest priority. During his time leading GCC, Sunser oversaw the development of the Richard C. Call Arena and the Student Success Center, capital projects that represented the largest fundraising efforts ever undertaken by the College. He also provided leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic that drastically altered the delivery of services, never wavering from the commitment to putting students first.

 

 

Juneteenth is coming up on Monday, and the Western New York region is going to be celebrating the holiday today and tomorrow. The festivities begin today in Brighton with an event at the town hall there that starts at noon. Tomorrow, the Rochester Juneteenth Festival is taking place from 11:00am until 8:30pm at Martin Luther King Junior Park and there’s no cost to attend. The Town of Irondequoit also hosts a Juneteenth event tomorrow from noon until 4:00pm at town hall.

 

After two games got postponed, the Muckdogs pulled out a win against the Jamestown Tarp Skunks last night; the final score was 3-2. They’ll play two doubleheaders this weekend to make up some games against the Auburn Doubledays. They’re at home tonight with the first game starting at 5:00. Tomorrow night they’ll be in Auburn. And then on Sunday, they’re back at Dwyer to host the Niagara Power. Game time is 4:05.

 

The Genesee County Spartans take the field Saturday night against the Ithaca Warriors with kickoff set for 7:00 at Genesee Community College. They’re coming off a shut-out loss last weekend at Lockport (28-0). Head Coach Harry Rascoe believes the score is misleading because the Spartans were competitive. Admission for this weekend’ game is $5 per person with children under 12 admitted free. The contest has been designated as Dan’s Tire and Auto Night.

 

 

 

If your home was built before 1978, it’s more likely to have lead-based paint that can be disturbed when renovating. This could put lead dust into the air as well as into heating and cooling systems. Anyone exposed to lead dusk is at risk of lead poisoning and there is no safe level of lead to have in your body. The Genesee County Health Department has provided steps to help keep your home renovation safe.

Here are some simple steps you can take to keep both you and your family safe.

1. Set up safely in a way that should prevent dust from escaping the work area and keep anyone not working on the project from entering. This can include removing all furniture, rugs, curtains, and other household items, tightly wrapping items that cannot be removed with plastic sheeting, covering floors with plastic sheeting, closing and sealing all doors, turning off forced-air heating and air conditioning systems, and covering vents with sheeting. All sheeting should be taped in place to ensure it is secure.

2. Protect yourself. Wear proper personal protective equipment (PPE) when working, wash your hands and face every time you stop working, wash your work clothes separately from the rest of your family’s laundry, and do not eat, drink, or smoke in your work area. Dust and debris can contaminate food or other items and cause you to ingest dangerous lead dust.

3. Minimize Dust. Many renovation tasks (drilling, cutting, opening walls, etc.) create dust that may contain lead. Using proper tools and simple practices can help limit and control the dust.

4. Clean your work area at the end of every day. This helps minimize dust and protects you and your family. Easy ways to keep your work area clean include; putting trash in heavy-duty bags as you work, vacuuming with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) cleaner frequently, cleaning tools daily, disposing of or cleaning PPE, and keeping non-workers out of the work area.

5. Control Waste. Collect all waste and secure it tightly with duct tape or a double bag to prevent lead dust or debris from escaping before disposal.

6. Clean again. When your renovations are complete and before using the room again, use wet-cleaning methods in order to control the dust and prevent the dust from going back into the air. Make sure to mop uncarpeted floors thoroughly, clean walls with a HEPA vacuum or damp cloth, thoroughly vacuum all remaining surfaces and objects with a HEPA vacuum and then wipe down all surfaces with wet cloths until the cloths are clean.

For any questions and more information on GO Health Lead Programs, contact the Genesee County Health Department at (585) 344-2580 ext. 5555 or Health.GOlead@co.genesee.ny.us. You can also visit the GO Health website at www.GOHealthNY.org.

 

ELSEWHERE…

 

A kidney stone larger than a baseball was removed from a patient in Sri Lanka. Doctors said the stone was over five-inches long and weighed nearly two-pounds. Guinness World Records confirmed the kidney stone is the largest and heaviest ever extracted through surgery.

 

 

Heinz is releasing sauce packets custom-designed for each state. Dubbed Saucemerica, the condiment packets are limited edition and will be available at restaurants or anywhere else that typically has the packets. They’ll be the classic ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, BBQ, ranch and tartar sauces. For example, Texas’s packet is barbecue sauce, Colorado’s is ketchup to go with the state’s famous bison burger, and Florida’s is mustard to pair with a Cuban sandwich.

 

Pope Francis has returned to the Vatican after being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital. The 86-year-old pope was recovering from abdominal surgery, and left the hospital in a wheelchair today. On his way out, he spoke with well-wishers and medical staff who had gathered at the entrance to say goodbye.

 

 

The average balance in 401k plans is down almost $30,000 since 2021. A new report from Vanguard shows the 20% drop sitting under $113,000 in 2022, with 1 in 3 account holders having a balance of less than $10,000. It said the drop could be due to “market performance and an evolving participant base.”

 

 

Scientists say a key building block of life has been found on one of the moons of Saturn. New research published Wednesday says NASA scientists gathered data from the Cassini mission that studied Saturn and its moons from 2004 to 2017, and have discovered phosphorus on the moon Enceladus. The lead author of the study says phosphorus is vital for all life on Earth and is essential for the creation of DNA, and has been discovered in an ocean that lies beneath the icy surface of Enceladus.

 

Today is Friday, June 16th, the 167th day of the year.

June 16 in history…

 

…In 1884, the first roller coaster in the U.S. was operational at Coney Island in New York. Passengers seated sideways rode a train on undulating tracks over a wooden structure 600 feet long. The train started at a height of 50 feet on one end and ran downhill by gravity until its momentum died. Passengers left the train and attendants pushed the cars over a switch to a higher level. The passengers then returned to their seats and rode back to the original starting point. Admission was 5 cents and the owner, Lamarcus Thompson grossed an average of $600 per day.

 

 

…In 1903, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated.

 

 

 

…Also in 1903, Pepsi-Cola Company registers Pepsi-Cola with the United States Patent Office. From an ad published that same year: “Do you feel tired and out of sorts? Got the “blues” or nervous? Drink Pepsi-Cola at all soda fountains, cost you 5 cents, and put new life into your old bones.”

 

…In 1970, Chicago Bears football player Brian Piccolo died with his best friend Gale Sayers at his side. Piccolo’s story was recounted in the film “Brian’s Song.”

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1998, a 40-year-old Florida woman, identified only as Elizabeth, gave birth to a baby boy live on the Internet. It was the first-ever live birth on the Internet. An estimated 2,000,000 (million) people watched the event.

 

 

 

 

…In 2016, Philadelphia made history for being the first big city in America to approve a tax on sugary drinks. The city council overwhelmingly approved a 1.5% per-ounce tax on sugary drinks.