Morning News Brief

Orleans County Law Enforcement agencies have been working two robbery cases in the Villages of Albion and Medina along with a pursuit of the suspect vehicle through several Towns in Orleans County. The armed robberies happened at the Crosby’s Store on North Main Street in Albion and later at the Family Dollar in Medina. The suspect vehicle was spotted by police in the Town of Ridgeway. The vehicle sped away refusing to stop and travelled through several towns including Ridgway, Gaines and Carlton. Police said the vehicle was travelling at high rates of speed at times, driving through lawns and ditches and avoiding police road blocks. At one point the suspect vehicle intentionally drove at a deputy blocking the roadway with a marked patrol vehicle causing the deputy to jump out of the way to avoid being struck and killed. As the suspect was attempting to strike the deputy, shots were fired into the suspect vehicle in an attempt to stop the suspect from using the vehicle as a deadly weapon. The suspects, a male and female, were eventually taken into custody. There were no injuries to any police officers or the suspects. The cases remain under investigation.

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have vaccination and testing clinics with appointments available for Genesee and Orleans County residents. Starting today vaccine is now available for people age 16 and older.  Pfizer is a 2-series dose, 21 days apart, and is recommended for people aged 16 and older.  Moderna is a 2-series dose, 28 days apart, and is recommended for people aged 18 and older.  Johnson & Johnson is a one-series dose and is recommended for people age 18 and older. In Genesee County, the clinics are held at the Athletic Center at GCC in Batavia and in Orleans County, the clinics are held at the Ridgeway Fire Hall in Medina.

Genesee County is reporting 47 new positive cases of COVID-19, including data from over the weekend. Seventeen of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list. Nine of the current positive individuals are hospitalized. Twelve of the new positive individuals are inmates at the Genesee County Jail.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that New York restaurants are now eligible for their own direct federal pandemic relief. This was all part of the American Rescue Plan that recently went into effect. Schumer announced that more help is on the way for the Southern Tier economy, but that local restaurants need to apply through the Small Business Administration.

Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.87, up 1 cent from last week. One year ago, the price was $1.94. The New York State average is $2.90 – down a penny from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.30. AAA Western and Central New York reports Batavia gas prices are $2.85 (up 1 cent since last week).

It’s been two weeks since the state was asked about new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that states students’ desks can be separated by three feet rather than six feet. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his team addressed the guidance Monday during his press briefing. New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said the state will need to work with local school districts on the guidance because each district is different. The Governor said the new recommendations should be coming out within a week, but he said it’s not easy coming up with the guidance.