Weekend News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on July 15, 2022
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office reported that the man who was driving the motorcycle in the crash with the van in front of Dave’s Ice Cream on West Main Street in Batavia succumbed to his injuries at Strong Memorial Hospital. Gilberto Natal was 34 years old and was a resident of Batavia. The crash, where Gilberto hit the side of a transit van being driven by 80 year old Bruce Chilson as he turned into Dave’s Ice Cream, flipped the Van over onto its side and threw Natal into the side of it before he hit the road. The collision is still under investigation.
Governor Hochul has signed new legislation aimed at making bicyclists and pedestrians more safe. The new legislation makes learning about bicycle and pedestrian safety mandatory and adds it to the licensing exam. Information will be added to the license handbook and adds curriculum to the prelicensing course that includes an overview of a vehicle operator’s duty to be aware of and exercise care around pedestrians and bicyclists.
Governor Hochul has signed legislation that bans smoking in public parks and beaches. The legislation bans smoking in all state-owned beaches, boardwalks, marinas, playgrounds, recreation centers, and group camps according to the governor’s office. Smoking those areas will be punishable with a civil fine of $50. The governor’s office said the Adirondacks and Catskills as well as parking lots, sidewalks adjoining parks, and areas not used for park purposes are exempt from the legislation.
The Batavia LED Street Light project is slated to get underway Monday night. The project involved buying back the lights from National Grid and now new LED lights will be installed and maintained by the city instead of by the utility company. Work is scheduled to start on Main street and then Oak street. Tuesday and Wednesday it will move over to Ellicott Street. They hope to be done by Friday. No street closures are expected but there will be delays as the work is done over the street.
The Buffalo Sabres announced their contracts for the first round picks on Friday. Matt Savoie, Noah Ostlund, and Jiri Kulich signed three-year entry-level deals. Ostlund and Kulich have had the chance to showcase their talents in development camp while Savoie continues to recover from a shoulder injury.
