Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on March 15, 2023
A 16 year old boy is on probation after making a terrorist threat against the Albion School District on Snapchat. Around 6:30 in the morning on Tuesday the School Resource officer received an alert that there was a threat posted on social media. Investigators quickly located the student who had posted the threat and arrested him. He said he was just joking around. He was arraigned for felony making a terrorist threat and then reported to Orleans County Probation for electronic monitoring.
The City Council in Batavia voted 6 to 2 in favor of overriding the tax cap and passing the 33. 5 million dollar budget. The tax cap override means that the city will be able to collect a $6.6 million tax levy for the $19.4 million general budget. City taxpayers won’t see an increased tax rate, as that will remain flat at $8.94 per $1,000 assessed value. Council was unanimous in its vote to approve the 30-cent water rate increase, which, along with an increased water meter rate and capital improvement fees, will tack on about $60 more for an average home of four people. City Council members said they were happy with the cities financial status and their ability to get a new zamboni and ice chiller for the ice arena, put up the new police station, change over the streetlamps to LED lights, and 3 major water and sewer projects.
Volunteer firefighters will be able to claim a tax exemption for their service and with 585 volunteers across the county, the savings they get will be charged to everyone else. Firefighters get to claim the exemption if the law is passed which adds up to about 134 dollars in tax savings per volunteer firefighter, paid firefighters don’t get to claim it. All those firefighters means the taxes, about 78 thousand dollars worth, they aren’t paying get passed on to other county residents for a tax raise of about 3.30 cents per resident. County legislators want to look at this again before signing it. And, if passed, the earliest it would go into effect would be 2024.
Work for the South Lyon Street Bridge over the Tonawanda Creek project will resume Friday, March 17, 2023, as the work on the bridge had been paused due to seasonal weather conditions. A small portion of South Main Street in Batavia will be closed to traffic over the upcoming months. The bridge replacement project began last September and consists of two 11-foot lanes with 2-foot shoulders and a 5-foot sidewalk on the east side of the truss. The alignment of South Lyon Street will be modified to improve the intersection with South Main Street and approach work includes a seamless transition to the relocated intersection, existing roadway, and sidewalks.
St Patrick’s day weekend is also a STOP DWI weekend for Batavia, Leroy and Genesee County. The statewide STOP-DWI efforts start Thursday, March 16, and will continue through Sunday, March 19. St. Patrick’s Day weekend is a notoriously deadly period for impaired driving due to the number of celebrations and drivers on the road. New York State Police, County Sheriffs and municipal law enforcement agencies will be out in force during this across-the-board effort to reduce the number of alcohol-related injuries and deaths. While STOP-DWI efforts across New York have made great strides in reducing the number of alcohol and drug-related fatalities, still too many lives are being lost because of crashes caused by drunk or impaired drivers.
The Muckdogs are holding an XTreme International Ice Racing event at the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on March 31st at 7pm. XTreme Ice Racing is a motorcycle tour in Ice. The racers add metal studs to their tires and compete with bikes and quads with no brakes. This event will be the world championships of the sport and tickets can be bought by calling 814 504 9979 or going to the ticket office at the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena.
