Morning News Brief

There is a wind advisory in effect for Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties today from 10am to 7pm.  Winds are coming out of the west at 20 to 30 miles per hour and could gust up to 50 at times.  Remember to bring anything that could blow away inside and be careful if you are driving a tall vehicle.  Watch out for downed tree limbs while driving.

Police are looking for Devon Wright, again.  Wright is accused of shoving two females on Nov. 27 while at a location on Central Avenue and of tampering with the property of one of the women by throwing it all over the residence.  He is also wanted for violating his terms of release following his guilty plea on counts of attempted criminal possession of a weapon 2nd, assault 3rd, attempted assault 1st, and criminal sexual act 4th.  Anyone with information on Wright’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350 or the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370.

53 year old Matthew Barber of Batavia has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for  possession of Child pornography.  He was initially arrested in 2007 and sentenced to over 6 years for the same crime.  Then he was unsuccessfully discharged from a sex offender program after being released and going through supervision till 2017.  In may of 2020 he was caught with over 1000 images and 200 videos on a usb stick and a cell phone by the FBI.  

Wyoming County has declared a state of emergency due to COVID 19 cases rising in the county.  Wyoming County Chairwoman Rebecca Ryan says she declared the state of emergency in order to make sure the county receives resources aimed at ensuring safety of its residents.  Local emergency orders may also be enacted in addition to the county declaration.  From Tuesday, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Wyoming County was listed at 12.1 percent and 14.5 percent over the last seven days.  There are no current plans to put a mask mandate in place.

The group Constitutional Coalition of New York is planning a protest in Buffalo all next week over the mask mandates both in Erie county and in the schools.  They have published a series of events throughout the “civil disobedience” week including an outside protest in front of Buffalo City Hall, a school walkout day, and a day for all people to simply not wear masks wherever they are.  They liken their movement to Rosa Parks and Irena Sandler standing against powerful oppressors.