Wednesday News Brief

State residents should keep in mind that a nationwide emergency alert system test will be happening today. Alerts will be heard on radio, TV, and devices such as cell phones beginning at approximately 2:20 p.m. The goal of the test is to make sure alert systems that currently exist are the best way to warn the public about emergencies. The Emergency Alert System part of the test is scheduled to last about a minute and no action is required.

 

33-year-old Johnny Koonce, Jr. of LeRoy has been arrested and charged with criminal contempt. It’s alleged that he violated a full stay away order of protection when he was at the location and in the presence of the protected party. Koonce was transported to the Genesee County Jail and held pending a CAP Court arraignment.

 

 

Batavia City firefighters will be flow-testing fire hydrants tomorrow from approximately 9:00am until 3:00pm. This will affect the entire city. Homes and businesses near the hydrants being tested will be affected by water discoloration. As is always the case, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored. If you do experience a discoloration, run cold water for about 5 minutes or until it’s clear.

 

56-year-old Todd Sands of Medina has pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide. This morning in court he acknowledged drinking heavily on May 8th while spending time with his brother Timothy Sands, also 56. Todd was driving 94 miles per hour on Route 31A when he went off the road and struck a tree. Both men were ejected from the vehicle; Timothy was killed in the crash. Todd’s blood alcohol content was .175, more than twice the legal limit. He says he did not recall driving that day but does remember drinking and then waking up in a hospital. Criminally negligent homicide typically carries a maximum of up to 4 years in prison. With his plea agreement, Todd now faces a maximum of 6 months in the Orleans County Jail and 5 years probation.

 

 

20-year-old Legend Terrance Davis and 23-year-old Nathan Romar Arnold, both of Rochester, along with 27-year-old Blake Montel Crayon of Willoughby, Ohio, have been arrested. They’re charged by criminal complaint for possession of a US Postal Service key and theft of mail. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Rochester had been investigating a string of robberies involving the theft of mailbox keys, since January. Video surveillance of two of the three suspects showed that they were involved in opening a mail collection box in Brighton. And then early yesterday morning, three more collection boxes were being robbed on Jefferson Road in Rochester. The charges carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

 

Officials at Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo say a nurse has been fired after being arrested on child pornography charges and repeatedly having sexual intercourse with a minor victim. Before losing his job, 46-year-old Erik Hjemdahl-Monsen worked as a pediatric nurse at the facility. However, the hospital says none of Hjemdahl-Monsen’s alleged activities were connected to his position and also didn’t involve any young patients. He’s facing up to 20 years in prison and is expected in court tomorrow.

 

Starting next month, the 5/14 Memorial Commission will begin accepting design ideas for a permanent monument to honor the victims of a mass shooting. It was announced yesterday that concepts for the memorial could be sent in beginning November 1st. Last May, Payton Gendron killed 10 people and wounded three others at a Tops store on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo. He’s serving a life sentence and could also face the death penalty.

 

 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the state Department of Health is urging people to get themselves screened for the disease. The department says mammograms are the best way to detect cancer early. People with health insurance policies covered by state law don’t have to pay any out-of-pocket costs for any breast cancer imaging. In the Empire State, there are over 16,000 new cases of breast cancer reported each year and roughly 2,500 deaths.

 

ELSEWHERE…

 

AstraZeneca will pay $425 million to settle lawsuits from people who had kidney damage from the company’s Nexium and Prilosec heartburn medications. The UK-based drug maker said the settlement resolves cases currently in state and federal courts in New Jersey and Delaware. A case concerning the drugs and kidney damage is scheduled for federal court in Louisiana next April.

 

There has not been a Powerball jackpot winner since July, but lottery players are hoping luck is going to be on their side tonight. The huge prize up for grabs this evening is $1.2 billion after no one had all six winning numbers Monday. This is the third biggest Powerball jackpot in the history of the game. The drawing is going to be streamed live at powerball.com.

Suppose you had $1 billion: You could spend $5,000 a day for more than 500 years before you would run out of money. Breaking it down even farther, it means you would have to spend over $100,000 every day for the next 25 years in order to spend $1-billion. In area: One billion $1 bills would cover a four-square-mile area or the equivalent of 2,555 acres. In length: If you laid the $1 bills end to end, the trail would measure 96,900 miles. Go ahead, I’ll wait. How much would $1-billion dollars weigh? One billion $1 bills would weigh around 10 tons. If you want your winnings in quarters, it will weigh 22,680 tons. If you took the quarters and put them into quart jars, you’d have 435,337,917 of them. Melt those quarters down, and the molten metal would equal 3,419,136 quarts – that would fill an Olympic size swimming pool one-and-a-half times. How tall: Take one billion $1 bills and put them in a stack after about 30 years of stacking, your pile would measure 358,510 feet or 67.9 miles high. How fast can you go through that money? If you were really dedicated, and could spend $20 per second, you could spend $1 billion dollars in 578 days (1 year, 214 days). You’re going to need some caffeine, but you can afford it, so go for it.

 

Today is Wednesday, October 4th, the 277th day of the year.

October 4 in history…

 

…In 1931, Chester Gould’s comic strip, “Dick Tracy” debuted. Take a closer look here: https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1689195

 

…In 1933, “Esquire” magazine was published for the first time.

…In 1957, the first man-made satellite was launched into space by the Soviet Union. The craft was named “Sputnik One.”

 

 

 

 

 

…Also in 1957, “Leave It To Beaver” debuted on CBS. The show starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers as “the Beaver.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1970, rock singer Janis Joplin died of a drug overdose at the age of 27.

 

 

 

 

…In 1990, the Aaron Spelling TV series “Beverly Hills 90210” debuted on the Fox Network. The show continued on for a decade, finally ending its run in 2000.