Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on March 23, 2023
The Hilton Central School District evacuated all students and staff on Wednesday after someone emailed local media outlets that there were pipe bombs at all school buildings and the Superintendent’s house. The threat came in at around 8:30 in the morning. The emails said that the perpetrator was angry about a book called “This Book is Gay” by James Dawson, that is at the school library that contains sexual lgbt content. The emails accuse the school staff of being groomers and collapsing civilization. Students in all 5 Hilton Schools were evacuated to buses and parents were notified to come pick up their children. Many report it took hours to get their children because of the traffic being gridlocked around the school. No bombs were found. A meeting was held as had been previously scheduled Wednesday night to discuss the book and whether it was appropriate for the school. Students spoke about not feeling safe after the bomb threats. The incident is under investigation.
The Genesee County Sheriff’s office is mourning the loss of one of its dispatchers who passed away suddenly on Tuesday. Emergency Services Dispatcher Andrew Merkel was 38 years old and had been with the sheriff’s office since October of 2011. In addition to his regular duties as an Emergency Services Dispatcher, he was a Communications Training Officer and a board member of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Employee Association. Andy, as he was more popularly known, was also a former employee of Mercy EMS from 2009 to 2015 as an EMT, an Oakfield baseball coach and mentor and a longstanding member of the Alabama Fire Department. Outside of serving his community, he spent his time operating Wings Cupped Retriever Services, his dog training company, which specialized in obedience, retriever and gun dog training. He also enjoyed duck hunting and the outdoors. A GoFundMe has been organized by members of the Genesee County Sheriffs Association. All money raised will be given directly to Andrew Merkel’s family.
The Batavia Daily News has been sold. Sample News Group has bought the Batavia Daily News and its sister publication, Livingston County News along with Oswego County News and Oswego Shopper from their parent company based in Watertown, Johnson Newspaper Corporation. The official transfer of ownership will take place on May 1st. Sample News is a privately held publishing company based in Huntington Pennsylvania. They own 17 daily newspapers and more than 35 weeklies and specialty magazines.
Genesee County Sheriffs are investigating after a car struck a pedestrian on rt 63 in the town of Alabama around 8:30 Wednesday night. Sheriff’s say that 63 year old Vidal Chavez of Elba was driving west on rt 63 when 44 year old Richard Alan Jones Jr walked across the road in front of him and was hit. Jones was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.
The Batavia Development Corporation is purchasing a 4.26 acre parcel of land from the Town for 1 dollar. The area, which is located between Evans st and Tonawanda Creek behind the Ice Arena, will be opened up for land development following the model of the Ellicott Station Project. They say they have to first get the land sampled for pollutants and then see if the land can be marketed as a greenfield or brownfield. They expect the sale to close after April 18th.
Six Flags Darien Lake is holding a hiring event for more than 1000 open positions on Saturday. The positions range from part time to full time season spots. They need lifeguards, ride operators, food service, entertainment, security, admissions, retail, and camping workers. Applications are open to anyone 14 and up. Park workers get free park admission and bring a friend passes, discounts on food and retail items and employee exclusive events. The event goes from 9am to 1pm at the Six Flags Hotel.
