Morning News Brief

26 racers hit the streets of Batavia to satisfy their need for speed and prove who had the best engineering and daredevil chops as the Box Car Derby returned to town on Saturday.  The last time there was a box car derby in Batavia was decades ago.  The racers Saturday were between the ages of 7 and 10 and 11 and 13.  The race track was Ellicott Avenue between Richmond and Park.  The racers were provided with a box car kit at cost and built and decorated their derby cars for this morning’s race.  The winner for the 7 to 10 year age bracket was Brett Doward and the older age winner was Dominic Darch.  Style awards went to Ceili Finn and Maylo Kemp.  

Veterans One Stop Center is holding a stand down event from 10 to 3 on August 30th at Sahlen Field.  The Stand Down will provide Veterans with a wealth of resources in one convenient location. This event is open to all Veterans of the U.S. Military, regardless of discharge status. All Veterans can obtain information about VA health care and other Veteran benefits information, education, free haircuts, social and family services, and more. The Stand Down will connect homeless Veterans or those at risk of homelessness with information and services, including housing, legal advice, and many other additional critical services. Free lunch, surplus, and giveaways are offered to Veterans who attend. Veterans need to bring a copy of their DD-214 discharge papers, military ID, VA ID card, or a license with Veteran status to present at registration

The Just Kings distributed 75 backpacks full of school supplies for the 3rd annual Free Backpack Giveaway program this Saturday afternoon at Austin Park.  All donations were gone in about 10 minutes with a line formed at 1:30p.m. for the 2:00 p.m. distribution.  They also had haircuts, a bounce house, and several community groups set up tables to talk to the kids.

The Buffalo Bills announced Saturday the team had made the decision to “part ways” with rookie punter Matt Araiza after he was named in a civil lawsuit by a California woman accusing him and two former teammates at San Diego State University of “gang raping” her when she was 17 years old.  General manager Brandon Beane announced Araiza’s release at a press conference with head coach Sean McDermott after the team’s practice on Saturday.  Araiza says he is innocent and “looks forward to setting the record straight.”