Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on January 30, 2023
The former principal of St Paul Lutheran Church and School has been arrested and indicted on counts of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree in Batavia. Jason Clark was indicted on the 29th of December for 1 count of 2 or more acts of sexual conduct with a child less than 11 years old on or around labor day of 2014 and continuing till mid June of 2015, and 1 count of the same crime between labor day and June of the 2015-2016 school year. Clark was arraigned and released on his own recognizance Monday. He pleaded not guilty and will be back in court on March 27th.
A Wyoming County man has pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual conduct against a child, the Wyoming County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday. The district attorney’s office said 73-year-old Roger Bartz of Sheldon admitted to committing two or more acts of sexual conduct between November 10, 2021, and October 23, 2022, which involved a child who was six years old when the abuse began. According to the district attorney’s office, as part of the plea agreement, Bartz will be sentenced on April 20 to a 10-year determinate sentence followed by 10 years of post-release supervision and if he is released he will be subject to the sex offender registration act.
A class action lawsuit has been filed against the city of Buffalo in regard to the lack of fluoride in the city’s water. The lawsuit, filed by Buffalo residents, named not only the city of Buffalo, but the Mayor and the city’s water board chairman, as having deprived “Buffalo’s Residents of therapeutic fluoridated drinking water.” The lawsuit additionally calls for the fluoridation of the water to immediately resume and for all the previously named defendants to be held responsible for damages to “plaintiffs, their families, and hundreds of thousands of other Buffalonians.”
Rochester teens continue stealing and joyriding Hyundais and Kias. Around 6 p.m. on Sunday, officers responded to the area of S. Union St. and Chapman Alley for the report of several people stealing a Hyundai Elantra. When police arrived, they found a group of suspects driving that vehicle, as they attempted to steal another Hyundai nearby. Shortly after, officers say the suspect driving the stolen Elantra crashed into several parked vehicles, including an unoccupied police car, before fleeing the scene on foot. During the pursuit, police detained four suspects, all between the ages of 13 and 15, allegedly involved in the incident.
The extra money that people receiving SNAP benefits were getting is coming to an end. At the beginning of the pandemic, recipients were receiving emergency allotments of $95 or more in monthly benefits. Congress temporarily increased these benefits because of Covid-19, but after February’s payment, that emergency allotment will stop. The amount was based on the number of people in the family so some families will see a dramatic drop in how much they receive each month.
Buffalo has 3 more players in the Pro Bowl. Bills tight end Dawson Knox, tackle Dion Dawkins and guard Rodger Saffold have been named to the 2023 Pro Bowl. Knox will be appearing in his first career Pro Bowl, replacing Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce who is unable to participate due to the Chiefs making it to the Super Bowl. Knox is the first Bills tight end to be named to the Pro Bowl since Paul Costa in 1966. Eight members of the Bills are now headed to the Pro Bowl, the most since 1992 according to Buffalo Bills PR.
