Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on May 6, 2022
Officials announced Thursday that the refloating and recovery efforts at the USS the Sullivans have moved from the emergency to maintenance phase. More than 50 holes were plugged and 585,000 gallons of water were removed from the vessel. Additionally nearly 10,000 gallons of oil and water mix was removed. All of the repairs that have been made are temporary and more permanent repairs will have to be made in the future and assessments are still continuing. The Naval Park is working on a plan to re-open for Memorial Day weekend, although officials say that guests will not be able to go inside of The Sullivans. All options on saving the vessel are currently being explored including sending to Erie for dry docking.
An 18-year-old man from the Bronx is facing felony charges after deputies say he led them on a high-speed pursuit through Livingston County. Sheriff’s deputies say Redi Muca fled from officers trying to pull him over for a traffic violation in Mount Morris last week. He’s accused of running two other drivers off the road during the chase, which spanned several towns. Deputies say they stopped the pursuit when Muca reached speeds of 120 miles an hour. Deputies say was caught after a woman in Leicester called 911 after spotting the suspect’s vehicle drive through her yard.
The Lilac Festival starts today at Highland Park in Rochester. There will be over 85 live musical sets. A parade will run Saturday morning from South ave to Highland Ave. The organizers want to remind visitors that no unsupervised youth 16 and under are allowed. The festival will run three weekends, Friday through Sunday ending on May 22nd.
The Batavia High School Auditorium will be getting a new name to honor former Batavia High music director Frank Owen. Owen was the music director from 1927 to 1964. He was recognized with a Musicians of Note award in 2019. There is a scholarship in his name available to seniors pursuing a degree in music. During his time at the school he formed a girls and boys glee club, bands, an orchestra, a drumline, directed musical theater shows and inspired many musicians.
The Genesee Orleans Council of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse has named a new assistant director of prevention in Sheila Harding. Harding was employed as a Child Protective Services caseworker at Genesee County Department of Social Services for 12 years prior to working at GCASA. She has a bachelor’s degree in Health Science from Brockport State College. Harding oversees seven prevention educators who present evidence-based programming in five Genesee County schools – Batavia, Le Roy, Byron-Bergen, Oakfield-Alabama, Notre Dame and Genesee Valley BOCES – and two Orleans County schools – Medina and Albion. An Oakfield resident, Harding and her husband, Tyler Harding, have two daughters – Kayla, a junior, and Paige, a freshman, at Oakfield-Alabama Central School.
The Batavia Players begin their presentation of Back on the Boards Again: A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim tonight at the Batavia City Centre. The show starts at 7:30pm and runs tonight and Saturday. There is a matinee performance on Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are 15 dollars and can be bought at showtix4u.com.
