Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on January 2, 2023
Dog abandonment lands a woman in police custody. 32 year old Ledeja Wright of Maple Street in Batavia was arrested on December 15th for leaving a dog in an apartment after she moved out and not providing it with any food. She is charged with torturing or injuring an animal and failing to provide sustenance. She was arraigned and released. The dog is at the Animal Shelter.
New York is now on the list as the 6th state to legalize human composting or natural organic reduction. Natural organic reduction is a process of composting a human body. Funeral home owners are concerned over the lack of direction on how remains will be handled under the new law. Change is not instant and regulations are still being drafted to tell funeral homes how to proceed. Not all are on board with this new law, including the Catholic Church, that opposes it.
The ratings for the best and worst counties to live in for life expectancy are out, and the GLOW region numbers are surprising. The University of Wisconsin ranked the bottom 50 counties in each state for average age of death and overall health ratings. The best county in the area is Livingston with a life expectancy of 80 years which is .3 years less than the state average. They rank 11th out of NY counties in overall health of residents. Next up is Wyoming County with a life expectancy of 78.9 years. Wyoming ranks 17th in overall health. Third is Genesee County with a 77.8 year life expectancy, and ranking 38th in overall health. And at the bottom is Orleans County with 77.5 years and number 54 in overall health. In the bottom 50, meaning a lower number is worse, Livingston was 47, Wyoming was 29, Genesee was 12 and Orleans was 7.
A messy divorce is leading to airing nasty comments in public under the guise of a lawsuit, at least that’s what the defendant is saying. A radio and tv personality in Rochester, Deanna King, is suing her ex-husband David Bellavia, over an arrest in in 2021 where she was taken into custody over harassment charges. She is suing the Sheriffs Cffice in Orleans County, the County DA’s Office, an investigator, her ex, and the county itself saying that she was targeted in a conspiracy. She is represented by Nate McMurray who has previously represented the case of George Maziarz whose suit against Batavia Downs was thrown out. He also attempted to become the representative for Western NY in Congress but failed at his bid. Bellavia says the lawsuit is just an attempt to get negative comments he made into public record and is asking the lawsuit to be sealed and dismissed. His attorney, Donald O’brien, says King and McMurray failed to prove a conspiracy or even what law the defendants were supposed to have broken.
Move over Ronald, chicken and shakes are taking over this road. I 90 service plazas shut down their McDonald’s locations starting Sunday. The 11 fast food locations will be replaced by Chick Fil A and Shake Shacks as the service areas are brought back into operation. Subway, Sbarro and Burger King will still be operating at some, and all will still have their convenience stores. If you want to know what is at each thruway stop and their hours and menus you can visit the thruway’s website or download the app.
The NFL canceled Monday’s game after a Bills player collapsed at the end of a play. It happened during a key contest between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills. Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle where he jumped in front of Bengals Wide Receiver Tee Higgins and took him down in the impact. He stood up for a second or two and then fell down on his back right in front of a referee. Life-supporting measures had to be made on the field. He was taken off the field by ambulance with his mother riding along. He is being treated at University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he is listed in critical condition. Bills players were seen in tears on the sidelines. The Bills announced that he had suffered Cardiac Arrest while on the field.
