Morning News Brief

There is a flood watch affecting all of Western NY through Friday.  The high temperatures over the next few days are expected to cause major runoff which may result in floods near waterways.  Ice jams may result in backups and rising water in creeks and rivers.  There also may be rain that can contribute an inch to an inch and a half of precipitation.  Be prepared to go around flooded areas, do not drive into standing water if you don’t know how deep it is. 

Starting February 28th Canada will be changing how border crossings work.  Those who are fully vaccinated will not have to quarantine if they are selected to be randomly tested for COVID.  Children under 12 will not have any restrictions if they are traveling with fully vaccinated adults.  Travelers can now take either a rapid antigen test or molecular test before entering Canada, these must be official tests administered by a lab and not at home tests.  Also the Travel Health Notice is going from level 3 to level 2 meaning the Canadian government will no longer recommend that Canadians avoid travel for non-essential purposes.

The price of natural gas has more than doubled in the US and risen more than 500 percent in Europe.  Suppliers are raising their prices and consumers are feeling the pinch.  National Fuel says they are raising their prices to highs not seen since 2013.  They say there is nothing they can do as supplies are tighter than they have been but they offer tips to reduce your energy costs.  One suggestion is lower the thermostat when no one is home.  Another is to drain a quart of water from the water heater once a month to get rid of sediment that impairs water heater function. For a complete list of tips follow this link.

Two-dozen volunteers helped out the owner of an apartment in Albion that was wrecked by angry tenants. The landlord went on WKBW-TV’s “Problem Solvers” to complain about not receiving rent for almost a year. When the tenants were evicted the landlord found  find they had destroyed the apartment on the way out.  Local masons from Renovation Lodge #97 showed up, local property owners, husbands and wives, families, and some made the decision to drive out alone on Saturday morning.  Over two hours they cleaned out the trash, dirt, soiled carpeting and broken furniture.  Some of the volunteers have a background in home repairs and told the landlord Vickie Golisano they look to come back to make the apartment livable again soon.

The Batavia Veterans Home and Hospital got some love on Valentines day as the Genesee County 4-H and Churchville’s Legion Post #954 made and collected over 2000 Valentines Day cards and sent them to the Batavia VA.  The 4-H Fur & Feather Club, 4-H Sheep Club and individual 4-H members created over 250 handmade Valentine’s cards for the Batavia VA.  The Valentines were delivered to Cindy Baker of the Center for Development and Civic Engagement at the Batavia VA for hospitalized veterans and veterans in the in-residence PTSD programs.

The Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 6 to 3 on Tuesday nights.  Victor Oloffsson scored twice, the first goals he’s had since Halloween.  Alex Tuch, Tage Thomspon, Henri Jokiharju and Kyle Okposo all put in one as well.  The Sabres next game is against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at 7pm in Buffalo.