Morning News Brief

Rochester Police have arrested three suspects — including one who was wearing an ankle monitor — in connection with a weekend armed robbery.  The robbery occurred Saturday afternoon at the Verizon Wireless store on Lyell Avenue.  Police say the suspects — who were armed — ordered customers and staffers to lie on the floor.  They made off with 25-thousand dollars in electronics.  Nobody was hurt.  Police were able to locate the suspects because of the ankle monitor on one of them at a nearby gas station.   

Porch Pirating is on the rise according to a yearly study done by Safewise, an online resource that provides tools and information to help people make their life safer.  For this study, they surveyed 1,000 Americans.  More than 75 percent of respondents said they had had a package stolen.  The study said 260 million packages are found to have disappeared in the last year, which is 50 million more packages stolen compared to the study last year.  The website states that 40% of packages stolen are worth between $50 and $100, with an estimated loss of $19.5 billion nationwide.  Police say that tracking your packages, getting them as soon as they are dropped off, and using some kind of video doorbell or camera al help in reducing porch package theft.  

Batavia City Schools have received a grant from the Pediatric Suicide Prevenetion Community at the American Academy of Pediatrics for 12,500 dollars.  The grant is to help find and fix gaps in youth suicide prevention services in Batavia.  Batavia City School District says it will use funds from the grant to expand its “Sources of Strength” program, which is designed to harness the power of peer social networks to change unhealthy norms and culture, ultimately preventing suicide, bullying, and substance abuse. The mission of Sources of Strength is to prevent suicide by increasing help-seeking behaviors and promoting connections between peers and caring adults. According to the AAP, suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10-24 in the United States, and rates have been rising for decades.

The snow falling didn’t stop those who came out to Western NY National Cemetery Saturday from honoring the fallen with Wreaths Across America.  Community members and loved ones of veterans placed wreaths on all of the headstones in the cemetery while a ceremony was held.  Genesee County’s veterans’ services officer, Bill Joyce, was the keynote speaker during an opening service that included placing a wreath for each branch of the military by either a veteran or an active member of the Armed Forces, a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps.  Joyce called the service a day of “remembrance and reflection,”.

After coaching the team to winning 6 sectional titles and 2 state semifinals, Brennan Briggs is stepping down as coach of the Batavia Blue Devils Football Team.  He said in his resignation letter that he is leaving to spend more time with family and that the stress and long hours of coaching are making his life too unbalanced.  Briggs has been head coach for 11 seasons and has an 88-25 record.  He coached the Blue Devils to their first sectional title since 1991.  He will stay at the High School as a teacher.

The Buffalo Bills have clinched a postseason berth for the fifth time in the past six seasons and are now looking to their Christmas Eve match against Chicago.  The Bills beat the Miami Dolphins Saturday night, 32-to-29, for their 11th victory for the third consecutive season.  Buffalo also extended its winning streak to five straight.  The Bills improved to 10-and-3 on the season and are now three games ahead of Miami in the AFC East race.  During the game the fans were warned for throwing snowballs onto the field and at the Miami team.  Officials warned them that if they didn’t stop then the Bills would be hit with a 15 yard penalty.