Morning News Briefing

Former kindergarten teacher in Brockport pleads guilty to child porn charge.
Prison awaits a disgraced former teacher at the Brockport Central School following a guilty plea for receiving child pornography.
31 year old Roland Yockel the second admitted to receiving and possessing the material in a Federal Court in Buffalo Yesterday.
Yockel is said to have lived in the basement of his parents’ home with his mother providing babysitting services at the residnce.
Last year investigators searched through his residence uncovering hundreds of child porn videos.
Officers even found children’s underwear beneath his mattress.
Yockel admitted he had contact with a girl under seven years old who was being babysat by his mother.
He faces between 5 and 20 years behind bars when he is sentenced in June.

Flu rates on the decline after tripling previous cases recorded.
Health Director Paul Petitt reported to the Human Services Committee during their Monday meeting, that there have been 520 confirmed flu cases in Genesee County this season.
The number is nearly three times the average of the 150 to 200 cases usually recorded during the same period.
Fortunately the number of reported cases is beginning to slow, however there is typically a second peak during flu season.
Petitt said the flu shot is still the best way to prevent or reduce the severity of the flu even though it is only reported to be around 40 percent effective.

A 100 year old home is lost to an early morning fire in Batavia.
Flames ripped through the home on 20 Columbia Avenue yesterday morning destroying the home and belongings of a family of five .
Fortunately there were no injuries.
The fire went to a third alarm with crews from Elba and Alexander activated as well as the Town and City of Batavia Departments.
The home was declared a total loss and several pet dogs perished in the blaze.

Two Medina residents behind bars for drugs and funny money.
A home visit by Parole officers at a Medina residence allegedly uncovered a small amount of pot along with bag of various other drugs.
That spurred a full search of the residence with a police K-9 unit.
The search uncovered even more cocaine and marijuana along with a large sum of money as well as several counterfeit bills in 100 dollar denominations.
Collen Poole and Rebekah Champlin were both arrested and charged with felony counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance with intent to sell along with several other related charges.
Both were committed to the Orleans County Jail.
Poole was ordered to be held without bail and Champlin was held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

A brand-new initiative to sniff out suspected opioid dealers in Western New York is off to a fast start.
On Monday, law enforcement in Erie County offered people up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of an opioid dealer.
It said about 70 tips were received within 24 hours of the offer.
The Erie County D-A has set aside $45,000 to reward tipsters through Crime Stoppers Buffalo.
WHEC says they’re working to find out if Rochester will start a similar program.