Weekend News Brief

A School Security Officer got a bit of a scare in Rochester at school 23 on Thursday when they tried to stop someone from driving around a stopped school bus.  The driver of the car reportedly flashed a gun at the guard and then drove off.  The Rochester City School District said the suspect never directed or pointed the supposed firearm at the security officer or anyone else, and no children were present at the time of the incident.  School officials say that, while these kinds of incidents are not common, they are not unusual. The union said security guards are trained in evacuation and active shooter drills for two weeks prior to the school year starting, and are equipped for situations like Thursday’s.  The vehicle’s plate and information were reportedly taken by witnesses.  Rochester police are looking for the vehicle and its driver and the case is still under investigation.

Labor negotiations will continue between two health care unions, the University of Rochester, and Strong Memorial Hospital.  The unions, which represent more than 1,800 workers, have agreed to a two-week contract extension that will push the deadline back to Sept. 23. Both unions are seeking a contract that includes higher wages and a quality comprehensive benefit package, to help retain and recruit more workers and alleviate staffing shortage issues.  The two sides have already completed six bargaining sessions. Negotiations are slated to resume Monday.

Emmanuel Baptist Church on Oak Street in Batavia will be hosting a Missionary from the Middle East on Monday.  Daniel Chetti, who works with migrant domestic workers in 7 countries including Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, will be presenting on the work they do starting with a free dinner at the church at 6pm.  All are invited to attend and find out more about the INSAAF Justice and Compassion mission.  A freewill offering will be taken up to support the ministry.

Not only can the state of NY not develop and distribute hand sanitizer well enough to use it all up, but they can’t get rid of it in the time frame they promised after it expired.  A year ago the 4 million dollars worth, or 706,000 gallons of the alcohol-laden liquid, all of which was expired and unusable, was baking away on pallets on a remote runway of an abandoned airport in Oriskany that the state now uses as a training center.  NY state officials said it would all be recycled by Kodak in 44 weeks, or by the beginning of the summer.  Less than half of the sanitizer has been taken away so far and officials are saying they didn’t mean 44 weeks in a row but 44 weeks over however many years it would take with gaps between the weeks.  $4.3 million to make the sanitizer, $2.32 million to get rid of the unwanted excess, bringing the total NYS Clean price tag for you, the taxpayer, to $6.62 million.

New York State Police have released the numbers for the latest Stop DWI program.  The State Police issued 8,762 tickets and arrested 154 people for DWI during this year’s Labor Day weekend.  The initiative, which targeted impaired and reckless drivers, began on Friday, September 1, 2023, and continued through the Labor Day holiday, Monday, September 4.  3400 people were ticketed for speeding, 203 for distracted driving, 383 for seatbelt violations, and 126 for failure to move over.