Reaction to a dog barking in the background and a couple minor technical glitches couldn’t prevent a successful first foray into videoconferencing for the Batavia City Council on Monday night.

“I thought for the initial meeting, Council was a little less talkative than they normally would be, but other than that I thought everything went well,” said Council President Eugene Jankowski, about 14 hours after he presided over a Zoom videoconference that was shown on Facebook live and livestreamed on The Batavian.

Jankowski said that the board conducted a couple of trial runs on Zoom prior to the meeting. As it turned out, every Council member except for two was hooked up to video.

Early in the meeting, a comedic moment occurred when participants, viewers and listeners were distracted by the loud barking of a dog in the background. The owner, a Council member who will not be named in this account, let his feelings be known in harsh terms to quiet that dog down.

Other than that, Council Member John Canale lost his internet connection toward the end of the proceedings, but after a few minutes delay, he was back online and able to cast his votes on a pair of resolutions.

Jankowski said he and Lisa Casey, the City’s confidential secretary, had a plan in place for a situation such as that.

“If someone got kicked off, when we noticed it we would call (that person on the phone) and we will wait for you and try to get you back online,” Jankowski said. “I didn’t mind taking a minute or two recess and that’s exactly what happened. When someone got kicked off and it was noticed, we went into that plan and it took a few minutes longer, but we got him back online and he was able to cast his vote.”

Overall, Jankowski said he found it a bit difficult to make sure people didn’t talk over one another and that he missed the public input part of the meeting.

“Due to the circumstances, we just don’t have the room on the screen to have a lot of people get involved in the meeting,” he said. “We’re going to try to address that by emails and other ways, and hopefully this will only be a couple times and we’ll be back in person in a few weeks.”

At least one regular City Council observer agreed that the videoconference was effective.

“For a first time, it worked well,” said Batavian John Roach, in a comment on The Batavian.

The meeting also was shown on the Batavia News Service YouTube channel later last night and will be televised on Spectrum channel 1301 at 9 a.m. Wednesday and at 8 p.m. Friday.

City Council’s next meeting at 7 p.m. on April 27 has been set up as a Zoom videoconference.

In another development, Jankowski applauded a local business for offering to sew 200 to 250 masks for City employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“We’re supplying some of the materials to the local business and they are providing all the labor – free of charge, I guess,” Jankowski said. “They don’t want to be named right now; they are trying to do this anonymously.”

He said the homemade masks are more for others’ protection, “not necessarily the ones who are wearing them.”

“If you’re sick and you don’t know it, you’re not going to infect other people that you’re around … that’s what the governor is saying, anyway.”

City Council members are proceeding with caution after learning the Video Lottery Terminal money generated by Batavia Downs Gaming has been restored to local municipalities.

Last week, Assemblyman Steven Hawley announced that $440,000 in VLT funds will be returned to the City of Batavia – a reversal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's last-minute proposal that drove Council to pass a budget with a 7.48 percent property tax increase.

Council members discussed the new development at tonight’s joint Conference/Business videoconference that was live streamed on The Batavian.

Rose Mary Christian, reflecting the collective view of the board, said she will believe it when she sees it (in the City’s bank account).

“We can’t count on any of this unless we have it in our hand," she said. "We’re going to be hurting for quite a while because they (state lawmakers) are going to need it.” 

Responding to comments made by City Manager Martin Moore on the need to start planning now for next year’s budget – a spending plan certainly to be dealt a harsh blow by the coronavirus and its affect on sales tax revenue, Christian said she feels the residents’ pain.

“Marty, I really do not want to count on that money whatsoever at this point," she said. "I really feel our area is going to be hurting for taxes, property taxes, county taxes, water. I really feel sorry for the people throughout our community at this time, and I really don’t want to count on anything. People are having a very difficult time.”

Moore informed the board that a provision of the state budget is that “at certain times of the year they can take aid back that was approved by the legislature and signed by the governor.”

“That’s why we need to hold off on spending right now … looking at capital projects on a piece by piece basis,” he said.

Moore said it is too late to rework the budget, adding that there is no guarantee the (VLT) money will be received.

“If the money does show up, we will be very careful with that,” he said. “A most likely scenario is that our sales and use tax are going to take a hit and because of that fact, it may have to help fill some of the hole … for some of that loss in sales and use tax revenue.”

Council President Eugene Jankowski emphasized that “serious budgeting” is in store.

“We need to start planning next year for that money not being in our budget, and we need to not be surprised,” he said.

He said he does not want to have to exceed the (2 percent) tax cap again, either.

“I would like to keep it within our means and below the tax cap," he said. "That’s going to mean serious budgeting. We have 11 months to figure it out and we need to start today to plan ahead."

Jankowski also mentioned the state’s decision to fund (distressed) hospitals and nursing homes by taking sales tax before distribution to municipalities.

“The governor’s budget is taking money out of the sales tax revenue to supplement hospitals before they give it back to the county,” he said. “Not only are they taking AIM (Aid and Incentives for Municipalities) funding out of sales tax revenue then giving it to us, now they’re adding $50 million for hospitals, and then next year it’s going to be less. But this year they’ll take the biggest hit at the time we’re at the biggest hit ourselves.”

He said if the VLT money is available, the City will use it for one-time purchases or “maybe bring back some of the cuts we made this year.”

“But we’re not going to use it for the budget anymore; we can’t count on it and they’ll pull the rug out from underneath us,” he said.

Council passed two resolutions:

-- Taking $30,000 from the facility reserves to cover unexpected construction costs pertaining to the City Centre roof alternations and replacement project.

A recent design change with the skylight roof covering resulted in an additional expense of $13,040. The remaining nearly $17,000 will be available in case of a condition change that needs to be addressed right away once the main roof construction work starts.

-- Approval of the sale of foreclosed property at 697 E. Main St. to Joshua Doll for $10,000.

Doll was the highest bidder at an auction on March 14. The City’s Inspection Department reviewed the property and did not object to the sale.

While a number of capital projects have been chopped or pushed off to another day by Genesee County leaders, resulting in the deferral of more than $1 million in expenses, a plan to erect a new building to store fuel trucks and other equipment at the County Airport remains intact.

By a 3-1 vote this afternoon, the Genesee County Legislature’s Public Service Committee approved a resolution to forward a $109,000 project to its Ways & Means Committee for consideration before going before the full board.

After debating the project for about 30 minutes, John Hilchey, Christian Yunker and Marianne Clattenburg voted “yes” while Gordon Dibble voted “no.”

In reporting to the committee, Highway Superintendent Tim Hens said the new pole barn structure will replace an old farm building that has a dirt floor “and doesn’t have a big enough door for us to fit any of our modern equipment in.”

“The highway department force would be tearing the building down and we have put together a bid package for a new pole barn to be constructed on its site,” Hens said. “Basically, just the frame and the skin of the building (would be contracted out). County Highway would pour the concrete floor and we’d do the wiring for the building.”

Hens said Thompson Builds of Churchville came in with a bid of $109,000 – about $30,000 less than the next lowest bid. Funding will come from the county’s 1 percent sales tax.

“It’s a super-competitive price,” Hens said, adding that he understands the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on sales tax revenues but has set this project as a priority.

“This is one of those buildings that I’d still like to move forward. It does provide us a place to store our fuel equipment inside, which is really the driving factor for me,” he said.

The county has been storing the fuel trucks in old blue “T-hangars” that are located close to the runway and not capable of storing airplanes.

Hens said the problem with these hangars lies with the fact that they are unable to keep the cold wind from freezing the trucks’ fuel lines.

“We did have an outside area where we stored these pieces of equipment and put some plugs in … some block heaters for that equipment, but the block heater will only heat the engine end of the truck and it doesn’t deal with the fuel delivery end of the truck,” he said.

The highway superintendent also said heavy winds put the Jet A fuel truck out of commission for several days each winter, costing up to $5,000 in fuel sales profits – with a big impact on fuel sales to Mercy Flight.

Furthermore, the blue hangars are scheduled to be torn down this summer as part of a project fully funded by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“That project needs to move ahead. We just opened bids on it on Friday, and the FAA wants the project to move forward this summer,” he said.

Hens also noted that the new building would be able to store the large equipment used for mowing at the airport and the grader that currently is housed at the Highway Department on Cedar Street and driven through the City to the airport when needed.

Legislator Gary Maha, sitting in on the meeting, said he thought county crews could find a way to rig the heating blocks to keep the lines from freezing,

“I don’t think this is essential at this time,” he said. “I’d like to put this on pause for a year … and reevaluate it later.”

Dibble said he wasn’t against the project but disagreed with the timing.

“I would like to see us somehow make it through this winter to give us another year to see where we’re going on this whole thing,” he said. “It’s the same process we’re applying to a lot of projects across the county. I would like to see us drive the grader one more year and do what we can do to keep the fuel lines from freezing up.”

Yunker mentioned that Hens saved the county more than $700,000 in delaying projects and “made some very good arguments that it is going to be a problem with delivering fuel.”

“Between all the other dollars he’s cut out, we’ve got a very competitive bid and he’s going to do a lot of work on his own,” Yunker said. “It’s one of the more necessary projects that he had in mind, so I’m am going to support the project.”

County Manager Jay Gsell reported that for 2020 and 2021, Hens has put off $1.4 million in capital projects in response to the coronavirus’ impact upon county revenues.

Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein said she supports the project for various reasons.

“The potential that we would lose the sale of jet fuel along with a greater use of our workforce’s time and be able to shelter our equipment is extremely important because it extends its life,” she said. “And I would hate to lose the opportunity of grabbing this bid because it so competitive. I know it’s $109,000 … but the return on this is going to be sooner rather than later.”

Clattenburg agreed, noting that the blue hangars will be coming down soon.

“We’re not going to have those hangars to store them in because they have to be torn down, and we’re going to get 100 percent funding to do that,” she said. “I’m going to support this knowing that it’s a competitive bid, our workforce will have time to do this and contribute a lot of work toward this construction.”

Beyond the financial aspect, Hens said he does not want to tarnish the airport’s fine standing with aviators.

“The impact on our reputation of the ability to sell fuel in the winter months would probably be more of an issue for me than the actual dollar value loss,” he said. “We do get some big jets that rely on us (and) we do have a good runway to land on in the winter time. I would just hate to hurt our reputation we have build up in the last 20 years.”

In other action, the committee approved the following resolutions, which will now head to the Ways & Means Committee:

-- A contract renewal with Seneca Pavement Markings of Horseheads (Chemung County) for an amount not to exceed $165,000 for pavement markings – both center line and edge line. This is a 5 percent increase over the previous pact, the first increase since 2018, Hens said.

Hens said the estimated cost for this service is $300 per mile for center line markings and $170 per mile for edge line markings, which constitute the majority of road markings. He said markings last anywhere from six months to two years depending upon traffic volume.

The contract does not cover the cost of markings for roads in towns, but 11 of the 13 towns in Genesee County (except Darien and Pembroke) use the county’s bid prices, Hens said.

-- Renewal of a contract with H2H Facility Service Inc. of Rochester for office cleaning services at the Justice for Children Advocacy Center’s sties in Batavia, Albion and Warsaw. The two-year contract calls for a monthly rate of $505.82.

The cost of these services is covered by grants from the NYS Office of Children and Family Services and the NYS Office of Victim Services and are included in the 2020 Justice for Children Advocacy Center Budget.

-- Permission to apply for a State Homeland Security Program grant for $109,000 which is divided between the Sheriff’s Department (25 percent) and Emergency Management office to work together toward terrorism prevention, and Homeland Security and cybersecurity initiatives.

The county has received this type of funding for the past eight to 10 years, Gsell said.

-- The rejection of all bids for a five-year lease purchase of a new hydraulic excavator that came in at $375,000.

“I think we can probably milk another two to three years out of this piece of equipment,” Hens said. “Having the extra $75,000 (the 2020 expense), that will remain in the surplus in the road machinery fund and hopefully allow us, when we start doing 2020-21 budgeting, to not have to rely on so much revenue coming from either general fund or county road fund sources.”

-- Establishment of two capital projects – a highway fire alarm system for $97,161 and a 5130 Main St. alarm control panel for $15,000 – to be funded by the 1 percent sales tax.

This resolution, however, stipulates that six other capital projects will be put on hold, preserving $442,636 of sales tax revenue.

A similar resolution halted two more projects – an all-season pavilion and a park & forest boardwalk – returning another $180,000 to the 1 percent sales tax coffers.

Daily Health Department Briefing:

New Cases

• As of 2 p.m. today:
  • Genesee County received two new positive case of COVID-19 for a total of 76 positive cases.
    • The two individuals reside in Batavia.
    • One of the individuals is in their 30s, one individual is in their 90s.
    • One of our positive cases has been identified as an Erie County resident. Therefore, our numbers have decreased by one.
    • None of the positive individuals were on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
• Orleans County: One new positive cases of COVID-19 for a total of 29.
  • Of the positive cases over the weekend, including today, we have two from Lyndonville, one from Murray, one from Albion and one from Ridgeway.
  • The ages include one individual in their 30s, two individuals in their 50s, one individual in their 60s and one individual in their 70s.
  • One more person has recovered and has been released from mandatory isolation.
  • None of the positive individuals were on quarantine prior to becoming symptomatic.
• Mapping Update: Today we are adding the ages and the general area of where individuals who tested positive reside in the same format as our positive cases. You will now be able to see the cumulative age breakdown of the confirmed cases on the map as well as the breakdown by choosing the individual county from the upper right drop down box. Monday map updates will include the weekend data.
• Due to the current limited swabbing kits, there continue to be guidelines in place for primary care providers to order COVID-19 swabbing. This is based upon screening for high risk categories. Contact your primary care provider first to discuss symptoms and ability to be swabbed.
• Contact tracing has been initiated for all new cases. Known contacts have already been placed under mandatory quarantine and will be swabbed if indicated (if symptoms become present).
• If a person is identified as a contact, they will be notified by the County Health Department, quarantined and if warranted, swabbed if indicated. Limited information is provided to the public in compliance with HIPAA regulations and out of the respect of those impacted by this virus.
• When, and if, there is a situation where potential contact is made in a public location where contact tracing doesn’t have actual names of close contacts, we will send out a media announcement to help seek contacts.
• If you are experiencing ANY COVID-19 related symptoms STAY HOME!
•  Do not go to work, do not go to the store, do not go anywhere, YOU are spreading the virus. STAY HOME!

Click here to view the Genesee and Orleans County online map of confirmed cases.

OPERATIONAL UPDATES

State of Emergency To Be Extended

• Due to the Governor’s Executive Order Dated April 12 extending the Disaster Emergency through May 12, both counties are extending the State of Emergency for the same time period.
• Because COVID-19 is circulating locally, we can’t stress enough how important social distancing is and that EVERYONE needs to take this seriously and stay home! It is your social and civic responsibility to protect yourselves and others.
  • If you must shop for essentials, such as food, necessary household supplies or prescriptions, shop solo! Wear a face covering and wash or sanitize your hands frequently.
• Using cloth face coverings are recommended to protect others from you. Remember to wear one when you are out in public. You will need to be careful removing them from your face so as not to be exposed to any germs from the outside. Once removed, make sure you wash them in hot water, if able, and dry in a hot dryer. Wash your hands immediately after removing the mask. For more information about masks go to reliable sights such as the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

Mental Health

• Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations and having to socially distance yourself from someone you love can be difficult. Below are resources that can help you connect to a professional that can help you through these challenging times:
  • Care + Crisis Helpline is available 24/7 at 585-283-5200 or text  "Talk" to 741741
  • New Yorkers can call the COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for mental health counseling
  • Head Space: A mindfulness app called Headspace is offering some meditations to listen to for free to ease minds in such a stressful time. The app is free to download and includes meditations, sleep, and movement exercises to help with the varying emotions you may be feeling. The app does include in-app purchases.

Press release:

Beginning this week, Tops will be rolling out additional safety measures at all of its 162 stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. Those safety measures include providing all of its associates with American made cloth face masks to ensure their associates health and well-being while serving the community as essential workers.

This safety measure is in addition to the 5,000 face shields already distributed to its workforce. These masks have been ordered from multiple providers in order to ensure that the quantities needed are available.  

The masks that Tops is providing to their associates are American made, which was important to Tops as a company. An added bonus was that some masks were even made locally in Buffalo, where Tops is headquartered.

Tops is confident that the masks will be distributed to all associates by the end of this week. In the meantime disposable masks will be available. 

“There is nothing more important to Tops than the health and safety of our associates, customers, vendors, and their respective families,” said Chairman and CEO Frank Curci. “We have been laser-focused on COVID-19 since it became clear that the United States was going to be greatly impacted by this pandemic and can assure the public that we are implementing the safety and sanitation protocols that are being recommended by the experts available to us.

"As this crisis has unfolded, I know that our protocols have evolved to stay abreast of the latest medical and scientific advice coming from these health experts and Tops can pledge to you that we are fully engaged on this task for the sake of all involved.”   

Tops is also 90-percent complete with the installation of plexiglas on both sides of its registers as of today, and is complete with the installation of Plexiglas at all of its customer service desks, pharmacy, and fuel stations. In total the company will have installed nearly 1,000 plexiglas safety shields by close of business on Wednesday, April 15.

Additional safety measures rolled out at all stores include providing gloves for their associates, hand sanitizer and wipes for their associates and customers respectively, and the newly instituted Comfort Zone areas at the registers, pharmacy, and deli areas, which provides more social distancing between customers as well as the customer and Tops associate.

Further, an associate is assigned at each store specifically in charge of sanitization of the front end registers, check stands, conveyor belts, customer service desks, point of sale devices, restrooms,and other frequently touched surfaces most accessed by customers on a continual basis during operating hours.

From Senator Charles E. Schumer:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today (April 13) doubled down on his push to have the federal government cover the entire cost of federal disaster aid, just like after 9-11 and Superstorm Sandy.

This follows a successful push for the Trump administration to approve New York State’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic Major Disaster Declaration request, unlocking billions in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money for New York.

Under the current federal arrangement, FEMA is only expected to pay 75 percent of New York’s emergency expenses to fight the virus, sticking New Yorkers to foot the rest of the bill.

Schumer had previously written the president, along with a coalition of bipartisan senators, requesting this cost-share adjustment under all COVID-19 Emergency Declarations.

NY: Nation's first COVID-19 Major Disaster Declaration

Now, Schumer has written directly to President Trump, and called him, to urge the administration to grant a waiver allowing 100-percent federal cost share for New York State for all work under the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration and subsequent first-in-the-nation COVID-19 Major Disaster Declaration.

Schumer explained that with the rapid pace of spread in New York, the state is facing an explosion in the cost of fighting COVID-19, and needs full federal support in its efforts.

His push comes after he made a personal calls to President Trump and FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor over the past few weeks, urging the president to approve the waiver.

The administration has not yet acted to provide New York with the maximum possible funding, despite precedents such as previous Democrat and Republican administrations’ approval of cost sharing waivers during FEMA’s response to September 11^th and Hurricane Sandy, both events which had devastating effects on New York.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic reaching alarming new levels in New York every day, New York’s health care system and our state and local governments are being strained to the max,” Schumer said. “As our nation’s heroes continue to battle this deadly disease, it’s incumbent on the federal government to give them every tool the need to fight and recover as soon as possible.

"As the epicenter of this global pandemic, New York has paid more than any other state when it comes to front line workers, doctors, nurses, and victims. It is imperative that this waiver get approved with all due speed to ensure that New Yorkers are not forced to pay even more.”

Traditionally, a Major Disaster Declaration allows access to the Disaster Relief Fund, currently a $40 billion pot of money that can be used to pay for Public Assistance, including Emergency Protective Measure, in New York at a 75 percent federal to 25 percent state cost share.

However, Schumer argued, New York’s economy has been deeply impacted by the outbreak, leaving it ill-prepared to shoulder the burden of the local share of FEMA aid, warranting an immediate waiver of the state’s portion of this cost share and full, 100-percent federal financial support.

Coronavirus toll

Schumer’s push comes after New York State Department of Health reported more than 170,000 positive cases of COVID-19 and more than 7,800 COVID-19 deaths as of 1 p.m. April 10^th.

To date, New York has been obligated over $1.24 billion from the Disaster Relief Fund, which has paid for the conversion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center into a temporary hospital, as well as other line items necessary to fighting the outbreak.

From Neighborhood Legal Services:

Neighborhood Legal Services is a free civil legal services firm serving Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming and Orleans counties.

It specializes in domestic violence prevention, divorce, eviction prevention, health insurance access, disability, student loans, SNAP, shelter and other government benefits.

Neighborhood Legal Services’ new Justice Bus program works with community-based agencies to increase access to justice by bringing lawyers into communities where the most vulnerable Western New York residents need legal assistance for basic needs such as food, shelter and safety.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Neighborhood Legal Services’ Justice Bus program will provide expanded telephone access to free civil legal services on Monday and Thursday evenings from 5 – 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. as follows:

Domestic Violence/Family Legal Needs -- (716) 847-0650, ext. 279

Landlord/Tenant Legal Needs -- (716) 847-0650, ext. 272

COVID-19 Programs/Government Benefits/Health Insurance -- (716) 847-0650, ext. 221

Student Loans/Social Security Disability/SSI/Benefits Counseling -- (716) 847-0650, ext. 302

Neighborhood Legal Services, which has an office in Batavia, remains open for TELEPHONE INTAKE during the COVID-19 pandemic Monday through Friday. Genesee/Wyoming/Orleans County residents can call (585) 343-5450, or email: contactus@nls.org.

We can help with domestic violence and other family law matters; health insurance; government benefits/SNAP/shelter/benefits counseling; Social Security disability/SSI hearings; and evictions/housing conditions/housing discrimination matters.

Jordin Michael Schultz, 22, of Main Road, Stafford, is charged with third-degree menacing and reckless endangerment in the second degree. It is alleged that Schultz spit at a nurse and public health official at 5:39 p.m. April 2 at a location in the 6200 block of Main Road in Stafford. The defendant is due to appear in Stafford Town Court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 9. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Brock Cummins, assisted by Kyle Krzemien.

Ronald M. Refermat, 35, of Broadway Road, Darien, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. At 11:30 a.m. on April 11, Genesee County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a residence on Route 20 in Darien for a reported domestic incident. An investigation allegedly reveal that the defendant endangered the welfare of a child. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court and released. The case was handled by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Luis J. Santiago, 31, of Buell Street, Batavia, is charged with second-degree criminal contempt. The arrested follows an investigation of a domestic incident that occurred on Edward Street in the City of Batavia at 2:49 p.m. on March 28. Santiago was released on an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on May 19. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Sean Wilson, assisted by Officer Jordan McGinnis.

Press release:

For any Genesee County resident 60 years of age and older in need of food, please call NY Connects/Office for the Aging at (585) 343-1611, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. for assistance.

Office for the Aging not only offers home-delivered meals for those who qualify, but also helps individuals connect with other resources.

NY Connects/Office for the Aging staff continues to work with community partners to identify resources in every community in Genesee County.

“We are aware that some older adults who normally would not need our assistance, are finding that in this situation, they are part of the 'vulnerable' population and really need to stay indoors for their safety," said Diana Fox, director of the Office for the Aging. "We hope they will reach out to us so that we can help during this unusual time.”

Dorian Ely, services administrator at Office for the Aging added, “We have seen an increase in demand, but we have excellent partnerships with ARC, The Salvation Army, and FoodLink. In addition, we have received assistance from Star Growers, Harrington’s Produce, and Ferrell Gas. With these resources and others, we have been able to increase our normal capacity.”

If you or your organization has resources to share with the elderly in our county, please let Office for the Aging know by calling (585) 343-1611 or email OFA.Dept@co.genesee.ny.us.

If you wish to make a donation to the Meals on Wheels program, please send to Genesee Senior Foundation, 2 Bank St., Batavia, NY 14020.

Briefing

Batavia PD is asking the public's assistance in locating Devon Wright, a person of interest in a car vs. pedestrian collision on Highland Park on Wednesday night.

The department has previously said this is being treated as a criminal investigation.

Anyone with information in reference to his whereabouts may contact Detective Matt Wojtaszczyk at 585-345-6357 or the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350, the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370.

Previously: Pedestrian reportedly hit by car on Highland Park

Jessica Hill, an artist in residence with Batavia Players, reads William Shakespeare's Sonnet 116.

Three people, including a Le Roy resident, were injured when a National Grid line repair truck and a box truck collided at 3:40 a.m. at Brick House Corners in Pembroke.

The Sheriff's Office reports that a 2011 Freightliner box truck driven by Kimaly Satchel-el, 33, of Lafayette Avenue, Syracuse, was southbound on Route 77. Luis H. Welch, 32, of West Main Street, Le Roy, was driving eastbound on Route 5 in a 2014 Freightliner utility truck. 

Satchel-el allegedly failed to yield the right-of-way at the intersection of Route 5 and Route 77 and struck the utility truck.

Upon impact, the box truck rotated counterclockwise and came to rest facing north off of the north should of Route 5.  

The utility truck traveled off the southeast corner of the intersection, coming to rest facing southeast.

Satchel-el was extricated from the truck by volunteer firefighters. He was unconscious at the time of the extrication and sustained multiple injuries and was transported by Mercy EMS to ECMC. His passenger, Candace R. Keith, 21, of Brooklyn, was also transported to ECMC for treatment of injuries.

Welch was taken to UMMC for evaluation of a shoulder injury.

Pembroke, Indian Falls, East Pembroke, along with Mercy EMS responded to the scene. The investigation is continuing and is being conducted by Deputy Nicholas Chamoun, and Crash Management Team members Sgt. Jason Saile and Deputy Kyle Krzemein.

Photos and additional reporting by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service​.

Press release from AAA:

Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $1.86, down 7 cents since last week. One year ago, the price was $2.82. The New York State average is $2.25 – down 5 cents from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.82.

AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:

• Batavia -- $2.31 (down 7 cents since last week)
• Buffalo -- $2.31 (down 2 cents since last week)
• Ithaca -- $2.27 (down 5 cents since last week)
• Rochester -- $2.24 (down 3 cents since last week)
• Rome -- $2.24 (down 5 cents since last week)
• Syracuse -- $2.19 (down 5 cents since last week)
• Watertown -- $2.24 (down 5 cents since last week)

Gas prices continue to be unusually low. Two reasons for this dip in prices: COVID-19 – demand is historically low, and the oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia drove oil prices down. Oil prices directly impact pump prices.

Some gas stations across the United States are selling gas for less than $1 per gallon – the Native American reservations locally are doing this. Gas prices are higher in NYS due to three main factors: taxes, no refinery in New York State, and delivery challenges.

Typically, at this time of year, refineries would be switching over to summer-blend fuel, which is more expensive to make, and demand would be rising with Easter/spring break travel – but this is a very unique situation given the extremely low demand, no travel, and refineries stalling production.

From GasBuddy:

"As expected, and for the seventh straight week, the national average moved considerably lower, as well as gas prices in every state as retail prices continue to play catch up to the dramatic decline in market prices in recent weeks. And good news for consumers- contrary to popular belief, an OPEC deal over the weekend to cut oil production will actually not have a near-term impact on gasoline prices -- not even one bit," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

"Establishing a floor on ultra-low oil prices will hopefully keep U.S. oil production online instead of bankrupting producers. The aim is exactly that -- keep production online -- which will keep prices affordable going forward, instead of ultra-low prices shutting in oil production, leading to a slingshot in gas prices years from now.

"Going back to gas prices, I expect prices to continue moderating for now, as gasoline demand appears to remain near 50-year lows."

Also, the drop in fuel taxes, tolls mean less funding for roads maintenance

For our continuing National Poetry Month series, Bill Kauffman reads "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front," by Wendell Berry.

A high wind warning is in effect starting at 10 a.m. and lasting until 2 a.m., Tuesday.

The National Weather Service predicts southwest winds of 40 to 50 mph with gusts up to 70 mph.

"This will be a dangerous situation," the NWS states. "Very strong winds will result in numerous downed trees and power lines. Extensive power outages and property damage are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.

"People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches. If possible, remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if you must drive."

A shed fire, with flames showing, is reported at 91 Myrtle St., Le Roy.

Le Roy fire, Le Roy ambulance, Bergen fire and City fire's FAST Team dispatched.

UPDATE 8:03 p.m.: Le Roy's chief has put Bergen back in service.

Press release:

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments have received three more COVID-19 cases. Orleans has two new cases and Genesee has one.  Contact tracing has been initiated.  There is currently no further information to release on ages and location.

Mapping to include the positive cases from the weekend will be updated on Monday afternoon.

We encourage everyone to continue social distancing and staying home. If you need to go out, for essential needs, only one person should be running those errands so as not to risk further exposure.

This is not a time for gatherings or play dates or date night. The life you save may be you or a loved one. We can do this together -- we are one day closer to this being a memory.