Press release:
With COVID-19 vaccines becoming more prevalent and a return to public activities, many Americans are looking forward to resuming their lives and returning to normal. This June, during Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, the Alzheimer’s Association Western New York Chapter is encouraging residents to make brain health an important part of their return to normal.
“The past year has been extremely challenging for most Americans,” said WNY Chapter Executive Director Jill Horner. “Chronic stress, like that experienced during the pandemic, can impact memory, mood and anxiety. As local residents begin to return to normal, we encourage them to make brain health a priority.”
The WNY Chapter offers these five suggestions to promote brain health and to help residents restore their mental well-being:
1. Recommit to Brain-healthy Basics
Evidence suggests that healthy behaviors took a back seat for many Americans during the pandemic. Gym memberships were put on hiatus, social engagement became more challenging and many Americans swapped out healthful eating for their favorite comfort foods, take-out meals and frequent snacking while working remotely. One study published recently found participants gained nearly 1.5 pounds per month over the past year, on average.
The Alzheimer’s Association — through its U.S. POINTER Study— is examining the role lifestyle interventions, including diet, may play in protecting cognitive function. Right now, many experts agree that people can improve their brain health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline by adopting healthy lifestyle habits, preferably in combination, including:
2. Return to Normal at Your Own Pace
Many Americans are eager for a return to normal life following the pandemic, but others are anxious. In fact, one recent survey found that nearly half of adults (49 percent) report feeling uncomfortable about returning to in-person interactions when the pandemic ends.
For those feeling anxious, the Alzheimer’s Association suggests taking small steps. It may also be important to set boundaries and communicate your preferences to others in your social circles.
3. Help Others
There is evidence to suggest that helping others during the pandemic may not only make you feel better, but it may be good for you as well. Research shows that helping others in a crisis can be an effective way to alleviate stress and anxiety.
One study published during the pandemic found that adults over age 50 who volunteer for about two hours per week have a substantially reduced risk of dying, higher levels of physical activity and an improved sense of well-being.
To help others and yourself during June and throughout the year, volunteer in your community, run errands or deliver meals to a home-bound senior or donate to a favorite cause, such as supporting participants in the Alzheimer’s Association’s The Longest Day event on June 20.
4. Unplug and Disconnect
Technology has dominated our daily lives during the pandemic like never before. While technology has kept us connected through COVID-19, it has also created fatigue for many Americans.
Experts warn that excessive stimulation coming from our phones, computers, social media sources and news reports can add to our already heightened anxiety levels. To avoid technology overload, experts advise setting limits on your screen time, avoid carrying your phone everywhere, and disconnecting from digital devices at bedtime.
5. Control Your Stress Before it Controls You
In small doses, stress teaches the brain how to respond in healthy ways to the unexpected, inconvenient or unpleasant realities of daily life. Prolonged or repeated stress, however, can wear down and damage the brain, leading to serious health problems including depression, anxiety disorders, memory loss and increased risk for dementia.
Reports indicate that Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers are especially vulnerable to physical and emotional stress. The Alzheimer’s Association offers tips to help manage caregiver stress.
Meditation, exercise, listening to music or returning to a favorite activity you have missed during the pandemic are just some ways to manage stress. Do what works best for you.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has been an overwhelming time for all of us,” Horner said. “It’s important for people to know there are steps we can take to lessen the stress and anxiety we might be feeling. It can be easy to take brain health for granted, but now more than ever, it’s a good idea to make it a priority.”
Currently, the Alzheimer’s Association and representatives from more than 40 countries are working together to study the short- and long-term consequences of COVID-19 on the brain and nervous system in people at different ages, and from different genetic backgrounds.
About Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month
Created by the Alzheimer’s Association in 2014, Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month is dedicated to encouraging a global conversation about the brain and Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia. To learn more about the Alzheimer’s Association, available resources and how you can get involved to support the cause, visit alz.org.
About the Alzheimer’s Association
The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia®. Visitalz.orgor call 1-800-272-3900.
*DASH -- acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension -- an eating plan to lower or control high blood pressure. It emphasizes foods that are lower in sodium as well as foods that are rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium — nutrients that help lower blood pressure.
Press release:
On May 31st at 3:51 p.m., the Batavia Police were dispatched to Otis Street for the report of a 6-year old female who had been struck by a vehicle. Upon patrols arriving on the scene, the child was conscious and speaking with officers. City of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy EMS crews responded and evaluated the child on scene.
The child was then transported to the Mercy Flight helipad, where the child was flown to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. The accident occurred on private property at the residence on Otis Street, not on the roadway. Batavia Police interviewed the residents that were present at the time, including the driver. The operator, after disconnecting a trailer from his pickup truck, moved the vehicle striking the child who was in the yard on the passenger side of the vehicle. No impairment or intoxication is suspected, and no charges are pending.
At this time the child remains at Strong Memorial Hospital in serious but stable condition.
Previously: 6-year-old run over by a vehicle on Otis Street in the city
This afternoon, Corfu held a Memorial Day Parade.
Photos by Philip Casper.
Elba Central School along with the Elba Betterment Committee held a Memorial Day Ceremony today at Maple Lawn Cemetery.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
A 6-year-old child was reportedly run over by a vehicle at 117 Otis St. in the city. City fire and Mercy medics are responding.
UPDATE 3:55 p.m.: Police are on scene.
UPDATE 3:59 p.m.: Command asks that the availability of Mercy Flight be checked.
UPDATE 4:29 p.m.: A 6-year-old girl who lives at the address was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. Before the accident occurred, a man at the address backed a trailer loaded with ATVs into the side yard and unhooked the trailer. After unhitching the trailer, he got back into his truck and pulled forward. That's when he heard the girl scream. He told police he knew the girl was outside playing with her dog but thought she was on the other side of the house.
Here are photos from the Memorial Day Ceremonies at the Veterans Hospital, the NYS Vets Home, the Upton Monument, and the War Memorial at Jerome Center.
This is Scarlett, a nearly 6-month-old cat who lives on Monclair Avenue in the city. She has never been outside, until now of course, and her household is up in arms over her sudden disappearance.
Naturally, you are expected to keep your eyes peeled and find this feline, who by the way, was named after the fictional heroine Scarlett O'Hara and not Hollywood's Scarlett Johansson.
"She almost looks Chinese, but she's not," says her mom, Tracey Cook. (Did she mean Siamese?)
She suspects Scarlett may have darted out last night around midnight when her son, who lives happily in the basement, left to walk his girlfriend home from work.
This morning at 8 o'clock, the neighbor lady in the adjoining duplex reported seeing a slim snip of a white and gray cat on her back porch but had no idea it was Cook's cat -- since it had never been outside, until it got outside, you know.
The neighbor heretofore was only aware of Scarlett's big brother, who is neutered and goes in and out as he sees fit.
"I would've scooped her up," lamented the neighbor about the lost opportunity.
The neighbor said Scarlett was laying on the back porch. We say she was languidly lounging, oblivious, in a sunny spot before dashing off someplace in search of naughty fun.
"I'm afraid she'll get hit by a car ... we live close to Main Street," Cook wrote in her email, which also noted the prospect that someone might try to steal the kitten!
"She’s an emotional support animal and is in process of being registered as same," according to Cook.
Where's that emotional support when you need it most?
Scarlett's family and friends have scoured the neighborhood, peered up trees, beat the bushes and even went over to -- "Holland Ave," a known "hot cat spot," Cook says, to see if she wound up there.
Meanwhile, there are three "cat ladies" (they know who they are) who have been informed of this breach of security -- unauthorized access to the outside world --and they are quite skilled in cat-luring techniques.
Hopefully, it's just a matter of time. And it is ticking. Scarlett is due at the vet's in a couple days to be spayed.
An unspecified reward is being offered.
If you see Scarlett, call or text Tracey Cook at (585) 356-6082, or email: brewertracey@aol.com
Photos courtesy of Tracey Cook.
Councilman Bob Bialkowski shared this Memorial Day photo of the front of his house. Bialkowski has organized today's Memorial Day Parade in Batavia, which starts in Eastown Plaza at 9:45 a.m.
Other events in the county today:
A caller reports that somebody stole four birdhouses from her residence on Vallance Road in Le Roy.
Her husband is following the suspect vehicle, perhaps a red pickup truck.
Law enforcement is responding.
UPDATE 6:28 p.m.: The suspect vehicle was last seen on North Road, apparently heading into Monroe County. Monroe County deputies being alerted and the husband is returning home.
UPDATE 6:30 p.m.: A person in the vehicle threw the birdhouses into the roadway.
Bryan Bartholomew submitted this photo of sunset over Lehigh Avenue, Batavia.
JoAnne Meiser submitted this photo of sunset in Indian Falls.
A caller to dispatch reports there are three children playing in the water at DeWitt Recreation Area on Cedar Street with no adult supervision. City police are responding.
A dog is reportedly locked inside a red Ford Escape in a handicapped parking space across from Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel on Park Road. An animal control officer is responding.
UPDATE 1:35 p.m.: The officer is in the parking lot with the vehicle; she's waiting for a security guard from the Downs and has called for a zone car -- patrol car -- to the scene.
UPDATE 2:23 p.m.: Didn't hear an update other than the officer is clearing the scene at the Downs and heading to a dog-bite call received earlier today.
Paula Gilbert (photo at right), local government specialist with the Division of Local Government Services in Albany, advised that the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on March 31 paves the way to an estimated $1 billion industry with expected annual revenue of $350 million and the creation of between 30,000 and 60,000 jobs.
Gilbert imparted her knowledge of the new law earlier this month during a Hot Button Land Uses training webinar for municipal planning department personnel.
She said the economic benefit of cannabis production and sale is “really significant especially in some places in Upstate New York where we have distressed farmers that are really struggling today.”
“It’s not just selling these (products) in your community but there’s also going to be the whole pipeline of production and labeling and creating packaging,” she offered. “So, there’s a lot of opportunity for a lot of communities to get into the door.”
Farm owners in Genesee and other rural counties are leasing land to solar companies, reaping the rewards from lucrative contracts in that industry, and Gilbert is of the opinion that they will do the same for the growing of marijuana plants.
The legislation permits adult use of cannabis for those 21 years of age and up – people who may possess, display, purchase, obtain or transport up to 3 ounces of flower or 24 grams of concentrated cannabis.
It also expands New York’s existing medical marijuana program and immediately allows eligible users to smoke cannabis in public wherever tobacco is allowed.
Gilbert said that consumption is not allowed in schools, federal lands, workplaces or in vehicles as the federal government still has jurisdiction in those places.
She explained that there are two types of retail sites:
Cannabis home delivery is planned for the future, she said, resulting in Door-Dash-type services.
Gilbert said the state is establishing the Office of Cannabis Management & Marijuana Control Board, which will have an executive director and will be housed inside the New York State Liquor Authority.
The office will implement regulations for production, licensing, retail, packaging, labeling and use, with the first sales not expected until 2022 or early 2023.
Following are other aspects of the law shared during the webinar:
FOCUS ON DIVERSITY
Gilbert said the state is focusing on diversity – a 50-percent goal for minority or women-owned enterprises, distressed farms, disabled veterans – and small-scale production.
She said the strategy is different from other states in that New York is hoping to prevent large corporations and industries from controlling the market.
A person or company is prohibited from owning a growing facility and a dispensary, except for micro-enterprises, she said. A micro-enterprise can be defined as someone who owns all methods of production and only sells what is grown on-site.
In the future, home growing for adults will be limited to three mature and three immature plants, with a maximum of 12 plants per household.
SALES AND EXCISE TAXES
Gilbert said that sales tax on cannabis will be 13 percent, with 9 percent going to the state, 3 percent to the host municipality and 1 percent to the county.
Additionally, a THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) excise tax will be imposed.
“The heavier the product, the more tax there is to it,” she said, outlining taxes of a half-cent per milligram of flower, eight-tenths of a cents per milligram of concentrated cannabis and 3 cents per milligram of edible cannabis or “higher-powered” products.
“Hopefully some of those tax dollars will go to help people who become addicted – that is also part of it,” she added. A portion of the state’s share of revenues will be used for addiction treatment options.
LOCAL REGULATION
Municipalities have until Dec. 31 to opt out of any dispensary or on-site consumption site within their jurisdiction.
“However,” Gilbert said, “if you do opt out of this, it is something that can be challenged by a permissive referendum by the voters. If you’re a little nervous about this and you’re not sure if you want this in your community, you have to think about what you’re going to do.”
She said that because the regulations have yet to be finalized, she advises community leaders to take a wait-and-see approach.
“Once we get an idea from the Office of Cannabis Management & Marijuana Control Board, a lot of the questions will start to answer themselves,” she said.
If a community decides to opt out, it would lose the opportunity for the tax revenue. It would, however, have a chance to opt back in should legislative or public sentiment change.
In any event, municipalities cannot opt out of growing, testing or packaging facilities, and may not prohibit personal cannabis use in homes, she said.
CRIMINAL RECORD EXPUNGING
Gilbert said the law also calls for expunging previous convictions related to cannabis, which is now considered legal, and said the state will take the prerogative in clearing the records of previous offenders to a point.
Not everyone is going to have their record expunged as the conviction reversal is based on the level that cannabis is allowed today, she said.
If the conviction involved a quantity greater than what is allowed under the new law, that criminal record would not be expunged.
“For the kid in high school caught with a small amount – it could undo that,” she said.
ADDITIONAL TOPICS
Growing for personal use will not happen until 18 months after the first retail store makes a sale.
“They’re still trying to figure out how to tell if people are under the influence (of marijuana),” she said.
“Yes, we’ve seen that in Massachusetts as well,” she said. “Because there is a pretty large medical cannabis industry in New York, it’s likely certain products (will be sold) for medical users and others for personal use.”
For more information, go to www.cannabis.ny.gov.
A "large" grass fire is reported in the area of Clinton Street Road and Horseshoe Lake Road, Stafford, near the roadway.
Stafford fire is responding.
UPDATE 11:15 a.m.: The fire is an attended controlled burn. Stafford is standing down.
"Same as yesterday," said the dispatcher.
Two little girls are reportedly going door-to-door in the Village of Bergen asking for money.
One is wearing pink pajamas. The other, blue pajamas.
Previously: Callers complain about little beggars in Bergen
Marc C.J. Cook Sr., 30, of Church Street, Alabama, is charged with third-degree bail jumping, a Class A misdemeanor. Cook was arrested on May 27. In 2019 Cook was arrested for criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree. At that time, he was instructed to appear in Batavia City Court Sept. 15, 2020. Not only did he not appear in court on that date, he did not voluntarily turn himself in within 30 days of the required court appearance, according to the report from the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Cook was arraigned virtually in city court and put in jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bail or $5,000 bond. He is due back in city court on June 15. Members of the GC Drug Enforcement Task Force made the arrest with assistance from Sheriff's deputies. The GC DA's office also assisted in the case.
Brandon D. Forsyth, 29, of Corfu, was arrested at 8:01 p.m. May 21 by Troopers out of SP Warsaw and charged with driving while intoxicated and failure to stop at stop sign. Troopers arrested Forsyth after a motor-vehicle accident involving a ATV on Schoellkopf Road in the Town of Bennington. Forsyth was issued traffic tickets returnable to Town of Bennington Court in June.
Darrin Mitchell Brown, 31, of West State Street, Albion, is charged with: driving while ability impaired by drugs; driving while intoxicated -- first offense; and failure to signal within 100 feet. On May 25 at about 2:45 a.m. on Clinton Street in Batavia, Brown was arrested following a traffic stop. He was processed at the Genesee County Jail and issued appearance tickets to be in Batavia City Court on June 6. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Chamoun, assisted by Deputy Mathew Clor.
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