Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on March 7, 2023
The final count after a stampede on Sunday night at the Rochester Main Street Armory is 2 dead and 7 injured. Officers entered the armory after reports of shots fired which caused the stampede. They didn’t find any evidence of gunshots or any weapons. They found 3 women who had been trampled as people rushed the exit after a GloRilla and Finesse2Tymes concert ended. One woman, 33 year old Buffalo City Traffic Violations Agent Rhodesia Belton, was pronounced dead at the scene. Another woman was taken to Strong Memorial and died Monday. A third woman is in critical condition.
University at Buffalo Young Americas Foundation is set to host controversial conservative speaker and Daily Wire host Michael Knowles on Thursday and is getting pushback from professors and students. Knowles recently spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference and said that the ideology of transgenderism was false and therefore should be “eradicated from public life.” A group of professors from the Gender Studies department, English department and disabilities studies department are circulating a letter calling for the invitation of Knowles to be rescinded saying that Knowles is calling for violence against transgender people, or at least that his language might encourage violence against the transgender community. The College released a statement saying they wouldn’t restrict political speech unless it broke their rules and guidelines about diversity, equity and inclusion. Several national news outlets reported that Knowles had directly called for genocide against transgender people but changed their headlines later in the day after he threatened to sue for libel.
The City of Batavia Fire Department is proud to announce a new Fire Department Chaplain, Deacon Dave Erhart of Le Roy. Deacon Dave has 40 years of fire service experience with the Le Roy Fire Department as both a firefighter and Chaplain. He is currently serving as a Deacon with Our Lady of Mercy Church in Le Roy. He received Fire Chaplain training at the New York State Fire Academy in Montour Falls and is a member of the New York State Order of Chaplains. Fire Chaplains provide a valuable service to the Fire Department members and their families.
The Batavia fire Department celebrated 75 years of service on Saturday at their Awards banquet at Terry Hills. Chief Christopher Strathearn began his second term as chief and, in his annual report, said that the department responded to 409 calls in 2022 with 3,309 member responses to those calls for a total of 2,402 man hours by volunteers out on calls. The department currently has 48 active members.
Another victim of the difficulties of planning and timing in the same vein as the now postponed Wing Ding is the Picnic in the Park put on by GO ART! Even with a boost in funding for the picnic the Executive director, Gregory Hallock says that the Picnic is just not feasible. He said that with the cost of around 20,000 dollars to put the picnic on, and lack of help from other community organizations, and how close it is to the Ramble Explore Art event, GO ART just doesn’t have the capacity and resources to put it on.
The Pembroke Dragons beat the York Knights on Sunday to become Section 5 champions in Boys Basketball. The final score was 62 to 59. The Dragons go on to play the winner of the Lyons and Northstar Christian matchup happening Thursday.
The Buffalo Sabres lost a close game to the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night 3 to 2. Jeff Skinner and Dylan Cozens scored for Buffalo. They will be back in action again tonight against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Long Island. Both teams are evenly matched with the Sabres at 32 and 26 and 4 and the Islanders at 32 and 25 and 8. Puck drop is 7:30.
