Morning News Brief

Route 5 in Stafford was closed for about an hour Sunday as 911 dispatchers received a call that a detached garage on Main road was on fire.  Stafford Fire responded and reported an uncooperative male had barricaded himself in the garage and was claiming it was rigged with explosives to blow up if approached.  Additional deputies, along with the State Police, and DEC responded.  Route 5 was closed and residents in the area were evacuated.  The Batavia’s Police department’s armored emergency response vehicle was deployed along with negotiation specialists.  The subject was taken into custody and criminal charges are pending. There was no threat to the general public.  This is being classified as a mental health emergency and the man was taken to Strong.

State correctional facilities will now require all visitors and vendors to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID 19 or a negative COVID test within 48 hours of their visit according to a State department of Corrections announcement.  Physical contact between visitors and incarcerated individuals will not be allowed.  Unions requested stricter visitation protocols because of the surge in COVID cases. There is no set end date for these new rules.  

Gas price update for Batavia the average price of a gallon of regular is 3.47 which is about the same as last week.  The State average is 3.50 which is 1 cent down from last week and the national average is 3.29.  According to Gasbuddy the amount of oil available is trending downward but the amount of Gas being refined is trending up.  Demand is up by about 10 percent.  This is leading to prices maintaining and only fluctuating mildly.  We can expect to see a slow drop in gas prices as there will be less travel after the holidays.

The Bills punished the Patriots on Sunday afternoon for their defeat several weeks ago by taking over the AFC East lead in a 33-21 win at the Patriots Foxborough stadium.  The Bills got an early lead with a 4th down touchdown pass in the 1st quarter.  The Patriots could not gain the lead at any point in the game.  This was the Bills last road game of the regular season, they host the Atlanta Falcons at 1:00 p.m. on January 2nd.

The Buffalo Sabres have placed head coach Don Granato along with forwards Dylan Cozens and Mark Jankowski in COVID-19 protocol.  The Sabres say all three are asymptomatic at this time.  The Sabres now have five players and their head coach in COVID-19 protocol.  Forward Vinnie Hinostroza entered COVID-19 protocol on Monday, while forwards Zemgus Girgensons and Jeff Skinner entered protocol on Tuesday.  The NHL is still on holiday with the planned resumption of the season on monday being pushed back to Tuesday.  The Sabres next scheduled game is against the New Jersey Devils at 7pm Wednesday at Keybank Center.