Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on May 19, 2023
On Thursday Wyoming County declared its own state of emergency following Orleans and Genesee in order to keep New York City from bussing undocumented Migrants to their counties. The states of emergency block any new migrants from being moved into the area. All three counties cited not having enough housing and an increase in homelessness as reasons for not wanting influxes of immigrants. The state has not released an official plan to move migrants to these counties but has signaled it may begin housing them at SUNY campuses with concerns that GCC, Geneseo and other colleges will soon have large numbers of unknown and undocumented people sharing space with the teenagers and bringing new security and policing challenges.
Buffalo police have arrested three teenagers in connection with the armed robbery of a food delivery driver. According to investigators, two 16-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy were involved in Wednesday night’s crime in the area of Crawley Avenue near Ontario Street. The trio were taken into custody after stealing the victim’s vehicle and later leading officers on a brief foot chase. Police were able to recover credit cards and cash that belonged to the driver. All three teens are facing multiple charges.
New York State lawmakers are pushing to expand wine sales by allowing grocery stores to sell wine. A local group called “It’s Time for Wine, New York” is calling on the state to change it’s liquor licensing laws and allow grocery stores to sell wine. Grocery stores in New York can currently sell beer, but not other forms of liquor, including wine. Only full-service grocery stores, where at least 65% of sales are derived from food-related products, that already have a license for off-premises beer sales and are more than 5,000 square feet would qualify for the license. Lawmakers are working to pass this bill before the legislative term ends next month.
First responders participated in training courses over the last several weeks with 11 graduating from the Officer Development Firefighter Health and Safety Course and 18 graduating from the A Rescue Tech Basic Course. The Health and Safety Course was a 12 hour training that taught a basic knowledge of communications for administrative and emergency functions and gave a training on avoiding hazards and how to do initial accident investigations. The Rescue Tech Course provided students with an overview in areas of specialized rescue, search, technical rescue management, risks and priorities, use of ropes, knots and rope systems in a low angle environment and establishment of landing zones for helicopter operations.
The Batavia Rotary Club’s annual Fly-In Breakfast is set for Father’s Day, June 18 at the Genesee County Airport. The Fly-In Breakfast is open to the public and features an all-you-can-eat breakfast and an opportunity to to get up-close to a variety of private aircraft flown in by pilots from throughout the region. Serving begins at 7:30 a.m. and continues through 11 a.m. The breakfast consists of eggs, pancakes, sausage, juice, coffee, tea and milk. Again this year the breakfast will feature a special Rotary Egg Bake which includes: eggs, peppers, onions, sausage and cheese that promises to be totally delicious. Adult tickets are $12. Tickets for children ages 4 to 12 are $8. Children under 4 are admitted free. Tickets may be obtained at Lawley Insurance, from any Batavia Rotarian or at the door.
Workers at Six Flags Darien Lake will be making final preparations today before the park opens for the 2023 season tomorrow. Additions for this year include a new laser light show, renovations to bathrooms and additional shaded seating throughout the park, new food options, and an Oktoberfest this Fall. Also more Titan Track has been added to the Predator Roller Coaster making it smoother and faster. For more on what’ll be happening at the park in the coming months, go to sixflags.com/darienlake.
