Weekend News Brief

Genesee county remains under a Lake Effect Snow Warning until afternoon on Sunday.  Heavy lake effect snow is expected. Additional snow accumulations of 10 to 20 inches in the most persistent lake snows. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph.  Travel could be very difficult to impossible. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. Gusty winds and heavy snow could bring down tree branches and result in isolated power outages.

At least 2 people are dead in Erie County after the snowstorm dumped up to 5 feet on Buffalo and western NY Friday.  The 2 died from heart attacks while shoveling the heavy pack.  Upwards of 6 million people are under snow alerts till Sunday.  70 percent of outgoing flights were canceled at the Buffalo Airport which had at least a foot of snow.  

All schools in New York State that have a Native American themed mascot are being ordered to retire them or lose state funding.  According to a memo that went out Thursday the State education Department is telling all schools that their mascot, logo and team names cannot be discriminatory.  They say that a name, logo or mascot that has a Native American theme stops the school from being a “safe and supportive environment for all students.”  From the memo: “Should a district fail to affirmatively commit to replacing its Native American team name, logo, and imagery by the end of the 2022-23 school year, it may be in willful violation of the Dignity Act. The penalties for such a violation include the removal of school officers and the withholding of State Aid.”

A local sauce canning business has hit it big with a 500,000 dollar prize.  Paul Guglielmo went to the Grow NY competition hoping that the panel of judges would want to support his business in Bergen on Appletree Road and they went for it.  He plans to add an expansion, buy new equipment, and hire additional workers at the Craft Cannery.  390 companies from 52 countries applied at the competition.  The requirement for the applications was they had to be operating a business in Central NY, the Finger Lakes, or the Southern Tier, no matter where the business was centered.  The top prize of a million dollars went to an Australian company.

The Genesee Valley BOCES School of Practical Nursing proudly graduated a new class of LPN Nurses.  The class was made up of 23 students, and they were celebrated at a pinning ceremony on Friday, November 18th.  This program is a 1200-clock-hour program, certified by the New York State Education Department, and is designed to prepare graduates for the NCLEX-PN Examination for licensure as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Graduates of the program receive a certificate of completion of licensed practical nursing. The LPN Program has a 98 percent job placement rate after passing the NCLEX exam. 

After bringing home their schools one and only sectional championship win the Pembroke Dragons went and did it again by beating the Morrisville Eaton Warriors 54 to 38 on Thursday.  They will go on to represent Section 5 at the final 8 man football game in New York State this Season for the State Championship at Union Endicott High School on November 25th at noon.