Morning News Brief
Written by Michael Baldwin on July 23, 2021
It’s Fair time. The Genesee County Fair kicks off tomorrow and runs thru July 31st. Tomorrow is drive your tractor to the Fair day…and it launches at 9 a.m. General admission and demolition derby tickets can be purchased at the Fairgrounds daily. The daily schedule can be found at gcfair.com.
An Oakfield man has been jailed following a knife attack and other acts of violence. Sheriff’s deputies said they took 37-year-old Michael Martinez of Church Street into custody. According to a press release, he engaged in a violent confrontation with two people, threatening to kill them. He allegedly stabbed one person and then fled to his house. He then threatened a third person outside his home with a pipe and said he would get a gun. Deputies arrived and arrested him without incident. He was charged with menacing, two counts of felony first-degree attempted assault, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, harassment and trespass. He was arraigned and jailed on $10,000 bail. State Troopers assisted.
Genesee deputies report the arrest of 35-year-old Ida Vanorden of Swan Street in Batavia. She was charged with second-degree attempted assault and third-degree assault. She is accused of assaulting two people on Thursday. Vanorden was arraigned and is due to return to court August 11th.
Quicklee’s convenience store and gas station is a step closer to building in Batavia. The city Planning and Development Committee has approved the request to build at the former Bob Evans on Oak Street.
An accused Batavia drug dealer is headed to prison. In court this week, 46-year-old Angela Bateman of West Main Street Road was ordered to serve two years in state prison along with three years post-release supervision.
A Batavia man has pleaded guilty to raping a child. In court this week, 19-year-old Hezekiah Burch admitted to the crime of first-degree rape. He cut a deal with prosecutors so his prison time won’t exceed seven years when he is sentenced in September. The victim was under the age of 15.
There are now new rules for teenage marriages in New York. Legislation as been approved and signed raising the age of consent to be married in New York State to 18. This legislation takes effect 30 days after becoming law and will apply to licenses issued after that date.
Some New Yorkers with disabilities are missing out on employment opportunities and other benefits because the state Office of Mental Health (OMH) failed to include key features in its web-based advisement system…that’s according to an audit just released by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. In a statement, the Comptroller said “New Yorkers with disabilities suffer much higher rates of unemployment and poverty than the general public, and the Office of Mental Health hasn’t done enough to fix those problems.”
The New York COVID rate has dropped a bit to 1.70%. As of Thursday, there were 21 new hospitalizations and five more people were admitted to ICU.
Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has been selected as one of four statewide recipients of “The Arc New York 2021 Employer of the Year Award,” acknowledging the value of employing people with disabilities in their place of business. Arc of Genesee Orleans representatives will be on hand at the Downs on Thursday, July 29, at 6 p.m. for the Zoom award presentation.
