Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on February 19, 2023
A fire on South Main Street sent one person to the hospital. Around 7:20 on Saturday the City of Batavia Fire Department was alerted to a fire at 44 South Main Street in Batavia. Fire units arrived at 7:22 to a 2 and a half story home with a fire in the kitchen area and an occupant trapped on the second floor. Fire crews quickly deployed a portable ground ladder, brought a female occupant to safety, and extinguished the fire. Fire damage was confined to the kitchen area and smoke damage throughout the upper apartment. Two other occupants were in the home at the time of the fire and one of those occupants was transported by ambulance to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. No firefighter injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental due to cooking by City of Batavia Fire Department fire investigators.
A man was shot dead on Parsells Ave in Rochester on Saturday night. Rochester PD responded around 9:20 p.m., for the report of a man who knocked on a neighbor’s door, claiming he had been shot. Shortly after, officers say they found the victim, 35-year-old Jermaine Wilkins who was suffering from at least one gunshot wound to his upper body. He was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene. Although Wilkins is originally from Rochester, he resided in Buffalo. He was in Rochester visiting family. Wilkins is believed to have been shot while walking on Denver Street and ran to the house on Parsells Ave after he was shot. The motive for the murder is unknown at this time and there are no suspects in custody.
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority announced Friday that K-9 Eiko from the NFTA Transit Police has been chosen to work security detail at the NBA All Star Game. Eiko, an explosive detection canine, traveled to Utah with Officer Elliot Justinger on Tuesday. The duo will help with security at various events leading up to the big game Sunday. Eiko previously traveled to Inglewood California in 2022 to work the Super Bowl.
Representative Elise Stefanik is incensed about the border, the northern border. The representative of New York’s 21st district says that illegal border contacts at the Canada US border have risen 700 percent in the last year and that January saw more illegal border crossings than the last dozen Januarys combined. She lays the blame for the increase in crossings, and the increase of fentanyl being smuggled into the country, at President Biden’s feet. She said in a press release that border agents have been forced to work remotely processing people who cross the southern border illegally while thousands cross into New York while they are busy. Stefanik says that she and republicans will put a stop to it.
The Buffalo Sabres brought the bigger boat to the fight against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. They filet the fish for a win of 4 to 2. Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch, Dylan Cozens, and Owen Power scored for the Sabres. Their west coast road trip ended with 2 wins and 2 losses. They come home to play against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at the Keybank Arena. Puck Drop is at 7:30.
Not only has ice been lacking on Lake Erie this winter, but much of the Great Lakes as well. In fact, the lack of ice coverage just reached a new record low. In a recent press release from NOAA Research on Friday, it was announced that the observed ice coverage on the Great Lakes on Feb. 13 was only 7 percent. That marks a new record low for ice coverage since records began in 1973. The average ice coverage across the Great Lakes for mid-February is around 35 to 40 percent. The reason for the lack of ice is due to generally above average temperatures that have been present this winter across the region. While there have been a few cold snaps that lead to ice development, fluctuating air temperatures thereafter allowed for ice to fade away. And when ice did develop, it wasn’t able to grow or thicken due to the relatively warmer winter temperatures.
