Morning News Brief

With increased demand for mental health services and many providers saying they are booked solid a new option is available in Buffalo.  The Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center is offering patients care at several levels of crisis under one roof.  Shannon Higbee, CEO at Recovery Options Made Easy said the idea behind the Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center first came to be during the height of the pandemic when the need for mental health care surged.  The services are inpatient and in several locations in Buffalo.  All services are 100 percent voluntary.  

City School District employees, administrators, teachers, and staff, along with first responders from Batavia, participated in a Special Olympics fundraiser on Friday — a polar plunge — outside of John Kennedy Intermediate School.  The participants ran under the spray of a fire truck’s hose and got soaked.  The Special Olympics honors the school district that raises the most money, the Batavia event raised $8,700, the most in Western New York.  Special Olympics will host an ice cream social at John Kennedy sometime this year and the school’s colors will be part of the Polar Plunge sweatshirt next year.

Richmond Memorial Library will be hosting a zoom event this Wednesday with Claire Evans to talk about Alf Wright.  Wright, better known as James Herriot is the focus of the book series and a film and several tv shows including the PBS show, All Creatures Great and Small.  He was a country veterinarian for 50 years in the United Kingdom.  The event will be at 7pm. 

Emmanuel Baptist Church on Oak Street in Batavia is beginning their 8 part Free dinner and a bible study series.  Every Monday starting today at 6:15 they will be gathering to watch the episodes of the Chosen Bible tv series season 3 and eating a home cooked dinner.  The church invites anyone who would like to come and learn more about who Jesus is and what he did during His ministry 2000 years ago as portrayed in the series. 

Buffalo Safety Damar Hamlin will play NFL football again according to the NFL Players Association medical director Thom Mayer.  Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during the Bills game vs the Bengals and was worked on by medical technicians for over 9 minutes to get his heart started again.  He has since promoted learning CPR and been recognized for his charitable work.  His doctors say he has made a remarkable recovery.  At the Super Bowl during the pregame pageantry, the NFL honored the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals training and medical staffs, along with the staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. A minute later, Hamlin joined them, putting his hands together to form a heart. He also received hugs from several of the first responders.

The Buffalo Sabres lost to the Calgary Flames 7 to 2 after the week off.  Tage Thompson scored the first goal of the game and then Casey Middlestadt scored the second, but it was all downhill from there.  They’ll hit the road for their next three games. A western road trip starting Monday against the Los Angeles Kings.