Morning News Briefing
Written by Michael Baldwin on October 23, 2020
Genesee County Board of Elections says they’ll be rolling out their new electronic poll books for the upcoming election, beginning with Early Voting tomorrow. The new election management tool allows jurisdictions to see voter turnout in near real-time, monitor the status of the Poll Pads, and remotely lock or disable a Poll Pad if there is a security issue at a polling place. Voters will have the ability to check into their polling location just as they always have — by giving their name and address to the Inspectors. The difference is now they will sign the poll pad instead of the big books. Voters will continue to use paper ballots for all voting.
Tomorrow (10/24) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Genesee County law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. There will be two drop-off locations on Saturday – Pembroke Town Hall, Route 5 at Route 77 in Pembroke and Alva Place Parking Lot in Batavia (across the street from Batavia Showtime movie theater located in the Genesee Country Mall). The Batavia location will also accept sharps. The service is free and anonymous; no questions asked. Collection sites will follow local COVID-19 guidelines and regulations, which includes masks for citizens dropping off medication.
For more than 20 years, Genesee Community College has invited the public to its Main Campus in Batavia on Veterans Day for two very important events — welcoming potential new students with a virtual Academic Open House and honoring veterans for their service to our country with a Veterans Day Ceremony. However, COVID has mixed things up this year. This year the college has prepared a video recognition that will be accessible to all on GCC’s website at any time on Wednesday, Nov. 11. In addition, potential students of all ages and their families are strongly encouraged to register and join GCC’s Virtual Open House also on Nov. 11 beginning at 9:30 a.m., which includes a schedule of virtual presentations and Q&A sessions.
Open Enrollment for those on Medicare continues until Dec. 7. The NY Connects/Genesee County Office for the Aging continues to be a resource that has information on all plans available for Genesee County residents. Even during COVID-19, they’re still helping you with your choices. Just call the office weekdays between the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Genesee County deputies arrested 41-year-old Aurello Aragon-Figueroa, of Chapel Road in Byron. He was charged with third-degree grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing, both felony crimes. He was arrested after allegedly not reporting income that he was earning and filing applications that were used to determine eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits without citing that income. As a result, it is alleged he received $9,321 in SNAP benefits that he was not entitled to.
Thirty-year-old Jillian Hupp of LeRoy was sentenced this week to a one-year conditional discharge in Batavia Town Court, after pleading guilty to one count of petit larceny. An investigation by the Genesee County Department of Social Services allegedly revealed that Hupp failed to report that the father of her children was also residing in the home, and she failed to report his wages. Hupp subsequently received $2,776 in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) she was not entitled to. Hupp accepted a plea deal to the reduced charge of petit larceny.
