Weekend News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on January 28, 2023
The teens accused of carjacking a school secretary at Rochester School 54 are also the same kids who stole the car with 2 small children inside last week according to the Rochester Police Department. At least one of the 16 year olds who threatened the school employee with a knife and demanded her car in the school parking lot was charged with grand larceny, unlawful imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child for the January 12 car theft. Two suspects are being held at the Monroe County Children’s Detention Center. The other three teens were released and referred to family court.
In an awards ceremony Friday — the first one at the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office in a couple of years because of the pandemic — Deputy Kenneth A. Quackenbush, III, was named Officer of the Year by Sheriff William Sheron. Several people were awarded for Meritorious Service: Corrections Officer James Smart, Emergency Service Dispatcher John Spencer the Second, Deputy Sheriff Nicholas Chamoun, Investigator Pete Welker, Community and Victim Services Counselor Rosanne DeMare. Corrections Officer Matthew Luce was commended for his work maintaining the inmate property room. Emergency Services Dispatcher Shelby Turner was commended for her work during winter storm Elliott. Deputy Sheriff Jeremiah Gechell was commended for a traffic stop on May 7th which resulted in a large amount of illicit drugs being discovered and taken off the streets.
GO ART! Is hosting a celebration of the life of James Owen on Sunday at 1pm and renaming the Owen Library as the James R Owen library. When Mr. Owen donated the funds to make the library a reality, he did not want his first name associated with it. He made GO ART!’s director promise that his first name would not be associated with it while he was alive. The beautiful white baby grand piano in the Owen Library, donated by Mr. Owen, will be played with any and all welcome to sing along. Jim would sit for hours in the Library sharing stories, talking about his father and music, and doing his best to entertain. Food will be provided, and the bar will be open.
The Genesee Amateur Hockey Association will host a USA Try Hockey For Free clinic as part of USA Hockey Week Across America at The David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena on Evans Street on Saturday, Feb, 25. 11:40 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., local youth, ages 4 to 9, are welcome at the rink to experience getting on the ice, learning how to “skate”, getting up after falling, basic skills with a hockey stick and shooting pucks into a hockey net. All the participants need is a helmet and winter gloves. Skates are available at the rink if needed and will be provided FREE by the David M. McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena Management Team.
Holland Land Office Museum has a few events coming up in the month of February. On the 9th the Museum will be having its next Trivia Night at 7pm. The topic is the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s through 70s. The next event is a Guest speaker on February 16th at 7pm. Patrick Ryan from the Buffalo History Museum will be presenting about Abolitionist William Wells Brown. On February 23rd at 9am Java With Joe will bring Sharon Burkel of the Historic Batavia Cemetery Association to present on Watson Bullock, an African-American man who moved to Batavia in the 1880s and went on to make significant impacts on many local organizations during his life.
