Monday News Brief

37-year-old Joel Prouty has been charged with criminal contempt. It’s alleged he was contacting a protected person in a stay-away order of protection via phone while at the Genesee County Jail. Prouty was transported to Batavia City Court for arraignment and was remanded back to jail.

 

 

 

 

The trial of Kelvin Vickers is scheduled to resume today following a delay. There was no testimony heard Friday after Vickers was reportedly exposed to someone at the Monroe County Jail who overdosed. As a result, Vickers needed to be under supervision for 12 hours, meaning court couldn’t proceed. He is accused of killing Rochester police officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz and attempting to kill Mazurkiewicz’s partner Officer Sino Seng last year.

 

 

Two people have been arrested following a police chase in Niagara County. The chase started late Friday night when a deputy tried to pull a vehicle over for a traffic stop in Newfane. The driver refused to pull over, triggering a pursuit that went through Newfane and Lockport before the vehicle came to a halt after the use of a tire deflation device. The driver, 27-year-old Rayshon Moore, and his passenger, 26-year-old Christine Westmoreland are now facing charges.

 

Halloween is only a few weeks away, and Rochester has been named one of the best cities in the United States for ghosts. According to rankings put together by Upgraded Points, Rochester finished in 27th place. The list is put together using several factors such as reported ghost sightings, haunted houses, and the number of graves and cemeteries per person. Topping the list was Springfield, Massachusetts, following by Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Birmingham, Alabama.

 

An inmate in the Monroe County Jail was found unresponsive in his cell late morning yesterday. Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says deputies at the Monroe County jail immediately started life-saving efforts. He was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital where medical staff pronounced him dead shortly after. The Sheriff’s office says the 60-year-old man was taken into custody on September 22 for a violation of his parole. The Sheriff’s office says the jail’s medical provider screened the man when he entered the jail. The man was housed in a medical unit. Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.

 

Now that federal student loan payments have resumed, State Attorney General Letitia James is offering tips to borrowers. James recommends that people make sure their contact information is up to date on their loan servicer’s website. People also should get an estimate of their upcoming payment amounts, interest rate, and find out when their payments are due. People can also check if they’re eligible for the SAVE Plan which might cut payments for qualified borrowers.

 

As of this morning, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas is $3.81. The state average, which is always a little bit higher, is at $3.89. In Batavia, we’re paying $3.82; that’s down 3 cents from a week but up 3 cents from a year ago today. Triple A reports, although there are fewer drivers on the road than would be the case during the summer, the price per barrel of oil is staying over $90, which helps to maintain the minimal changes in price we’re seeing at the pump.

 

The Buffalo Bills have picked up their third win in a row after blowing out an AFC East rival on their home field. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had over 300 yards passing and threw four touchdowns as Buffalo beat the Miami Dolphins 48 to 20 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park yesterday. With the victory, the Bills are three-and-one on the season. Up next for Buffalo is a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London this Sunday.

 

Bills starting cornerback Tre’Davious White was taken off the field after sustaining an Achilles tendon injury in the third quarter of Buffalo’s game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. White was hurt while covering receiver Tyreek Hill up the right sideline. White suddenly pulled up favoring his right leg and fell to the turf. While being treated by Buffalo’s training staff, White was lying on his back. He showed his frustration by removing his helmet and flinging it down the field. Bills players eventually surrounded White as he was loaded into the cart with a towel over his head and his hand on his face in dejection. White missed nearly a calendar year after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right knee on Thanksgiving Day of the 2021 season. The 2019 All-Pro has been a starter since being selected in the first round of the 2017 draft out of LSU.

 

Just nine months after going into cardiac arrest, Damar Hamlin is back on the Buffalo Bills’ active roster. Hamlin took the field for the first time this season for the opening kickoff in the Bills’ game against the Miami Dolphins today. Hamlin has made a remarkable recovery since going into cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game at Cincinnati in January.

 

ELSEWHERE…

Governor Kathy Hochul is vowing to find a nine-year-old girl who disappeared Saturday evening at Moreau Lake State Park. Charlotte Sena went missing during a bike ride around 6:15 while camping with her family at the park, located about 40 miles north of Albany. An Amber Alert was issued Sunday morning, and authorities fear she may have been abducted.

 

 

 

Springfield-based Merriam Webster has added about 700 new words to its dictionary. If you’re on your phone, you might want to avoid getting a “smishing” message. “Smishing” is defined as the practice of sending texts to someone in order to trick them. Or, you may have logged onto social media and fell into a “thirst trap,” which is a selfie or another photo shared for the purpose of getting attention. If you feel the need to leave a comment, you could say “NGL”, which is an abbreviation for “not gonna lie.”

 

Apple is working to fix overheating issues in the new iPhone 15. The newest iPhone variation was out for less than a week before users began reporting their cell phones were overheating when being used for basic functions. On Saturday, Apple announced it identified several issues that could be causing the overheating, including a bug in the iOS 17 software that will be fixed in an update. The company also said some third-party apps might cause the phone’s system to overload. Apple claims the issue is not a safety risk and will not impact the phone’s long-term performance.

Today is Monday, October 2nd, the 275th day of the year.

October 2 in history…

 

…In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.

 

 

 

 

…In 1937, 26-year-old Ronald Reagan made his big screen-acting debut in “Love is on the Air.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… In 1950, the first “Peanuts” comic strip appeared in nine newspapers.

 

 

 

…In 1959, “The Twilight Zone” aired for the first time on CBS. Rod Serling was the creator and host of the show.

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1985, actor Rock Hudson died after a battle with AIDS at the age of 59. He starred in several projects including the television show “McMillan and Wife” and the film “Pillow Talk.”

 

 

 

…In 1995, O.J. Simpson’s eight month murder trial came to an end when the jury hearing Simpson’s case reached a verdict of not guilty of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman after only four hours of deliberations.

 

 

 

 

…In 2008, almost 70-million Americans tuned in to the televised debate between vice presidential nominees Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. It was the largest audience for a VP debate in American history, shattering the record set in 1984 between Vice President George H. W. Bush and Democrat Geraldine Ferraro.