Holiday News

36-year-old Jose Rivera of Batavia is in Genesee County Jail on domestic violence and contempt charges for violating an order of protection. He now faces additional felony charges after conspiring to have ‘dangerous contraband’ brought into jail. 36-year-old Ida Vanorden of Batavia has also been charged with conspiracy for allegedly working with Rivera and an unidentified third man to have the contraband smuggled into jail. Rivera remains in jail; Vanorden is scheduled to return to court on January 10th. The investigation remains active as police continue to search for the third person involved. Anyone with information can contact Deputy Nicholas Chamoun at 345-3000, ext. 3258

 

 

A woman who was involved in a murder in North Carolina in 2008, has been arrested in Batavia and charged with attacking and choking a person during a dispute at an East Main Street residence. 41-year-old Malinda Falk is charged with harassment and criminal obstruction of breathing. She returns to City Court tomorrow. Falk was charged with harassment and criminal obstruction of breathing She and two others were arrested in 2008 and charged with the murder of a man in Morganton, N.C. on Jan. 21, 2008. Three years later, Falk was convicted of being an accessory to murder and was given a suspended sentence of 38 to 55 months in prison, time she already served while awaiting the outcome of the case. Her then-boyfriend, Daniel Wolff, also of Batavia was sentenced as an accessory to murder to 94 months to 122 months. John Brant of Friendship was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving a sentence of life without parole. The three traveled to North Carolina and robbed and murdered 49-year-old Dana Davis, an acquaintance of Wolff’s.

 

 

Governor Hochul has officially been sworn-in to begin her first full four-year term in office. During yesterday’s ceremony in Albany, the governor pledged to focus on making the state safer and more affordable. Hochul beat Republican Lee Zeldin back in November, becoming the first woman in state history to be elected governor. She has been governor since 2021 when she took over following the resignation of ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo. Hochul will reveal more details about her plans for the months ahead in her State of the State address next week.

 

 

A GoFundMe has been set up to help out the family who lost three young children in a blaze in Buffalo over the weekend. The fire happened Saturday morning at a home on Dartmouth Avenue. Three girls passed away and three other kids staying at the residence went to Oishei Children’s Hospital for treatment. Their grandmother also suffered burns but is expected to survive. The GoFundMe can be found by searching “Cornerstone Church Ministries Liggans Family” and as of this morning, they were just a few hundred dollars short of reaching their $10,000 goal.

 

 

Two people have been killed and a third person remains in intensive care following a wrong-way crash on the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo. According to police the collision happened yesterday near the Jefferson Street exit. Both drivers were rushed to Erie County Medical Center but could not be saved and a passenger is recovering from their injuries. Just what caused the tragedy is still under investigation. (The driver of the Jeep that was going the wrong way on the Kensington expressway is identified as 35-year old Patrick Stack of Williamsville.)

 

According to Triple A, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas in New York State is $3.39. Nationally, it’s $3.21. As of this morning in Batavia, the average price is $3.31, up one cent from yesterday but down 29 cents from a month ago.

 

 

The Buffalo Bills are on the road for tonight’s game as they prepare to take on one of the top teams in the AFC. The Bills are set to battle the defending conference champions the Cincinnati Bengals. Even if they’re victorious, the Bills cannot clinch home field advantage through the playoffs because the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos yesterday. Kickoff tonight is scheduled for 8:30.

 

 

The Buffalo Sabres have had their six game winning streak snapped after suffering a tough loss north of the border. Zemgus Girgensons had the lone goal for the Sabres as the Ottawa Senators defeated them last night with a final score of 3-1. Sabres goaltender Craig Anderson stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced in the contest. The next game for the Sabres is tomorrow night when they visit the Washington Capitals. The puck drops at 7:00.

 

 

A lucky lotto player could have a very happy start to their new year if they end up hitting the Powerball jackpot tonight. No one won the game on Saturday, pushing the prize for this evening’s drawing to at least $265,000,000. The odds of correctly picking all six numbers is one in over 292 million. The drawing will be streamed live online at powerball.com. Please play responsibly.