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Press release:

Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) is announcing that he is returning to the House Committee on Agriculture for the 117th Congress.

“Western New York’s economy and communities are directly supported by our agriculture industry,” Jacobs said. “Our farms, processing facilities, and agribusinesses provide thousands of good-paying jobs and present major opportunities to set our region up for future prosperity. It has been my mission to support our farmers in Congress – I made it a priority to be seated on the Agriculture Committee in July when I was first elected and look forward to carrying my work there into the 117th Congress.”

Announced earlier this year, Rep. David Scott (D-GA) will serve as Chairman, and Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) will serve as Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture for the 117th Congress. The Committee is charged with reviewing, developing, and advancing policies and proposals to support, improve, and further the needs of American farmers, agricultural businesses, and rural communities.

As of 2017, Western New York had more than 4,400 farms producing over $1.1 billion in products, representing 22 percent of all NYS agriculture sales.

“Serving on the Agriculture Committee puts me in the best possible position to advocate for our farmers and their needs,” Jacobs said. “These past few months alone, I was able to work with my colleagues to ensure the Commodity Credit Corporation was allocated necessary funding, increase investments for the USDA ReConnect Broadband Program, and pass COVID-19 relief legislation with direct support programs for farmers like the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).”

“This term, there are major priorities that must be addressed. Our region needs improved broadband infrastructure, the agriculture sector needs new and younger farmers to ensure the longevity of such a critical industry, and we need to protect and support our farmers from unfair trade practices so they can access expanded markets and grow their businesses,” Jacobs said. “Finally, we will be in the beginning stages of developing a new Farm Bill early this year. I will be working diligently to ensure that the needs of Western New York farmers are met in that legislation.”

GO ART! held a Buffalo Bills logo coloring contest for area children. To view all of the entries, click here (Facebook).

Four adults were displaced by a late-night fire in Le Roy on Monday but Le Roy Chief Craig Johnson credited volunteers keeping things from getting worse at 95 Summit St. after a fire was reported to an upstairs bedroom.

"Our guys did a great job of getting in there quickly and getting the fire knocked down," Johnson said. "They definitely saved the house."

The fire contained to the bedroom. There is some water damage and smoke damage on the second floor. 

The four adults were able to relocate with family members and Johnson said because power was cut to the house because of the fire, it will be some time before the house can be occupied again.

No injuries were reported.

The residents did not have any pets, Johnson said.

Along with Le Roy, responding agencies included Bergen, Stafford, City of Batavia, Pavilion, and Town of Batavia was a fill-in at Le Roy's hall.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A house fire is reported at 75 Summit St., Le Roy.

A caller reports a fire in a second-floor bedroom.

Le Roy fire and Bergen fire dispatched. City's Fast Team dispatched.

UPDATE 10:30 p.m.: Second alarm. Stafford, Pavilion dispatched. Town of Batavia to fill in at Le Roy station.

Batavia High School's Athletic Director, Michael Bromley, said he's beyond excited that high-risk sports, delayed because of COVID, might be able to start their seasons on Feb. 1.

That could mean basketball, hockey and wrestling could all start next week but final approval for practices to begin must come local health departments. 

Public Health Director Paul Pettit said he has been on conference calls with health officials from the Finger Lakes Region, with more to come, as they work to develop a uniform approach to restarting specific high school sports.

Statement from Pettit: 

Genesee and Orleans counties are working with the other local health departments in Western New York and the Finger Lakes.  As a region, the local health departments are in support of reopening high-risk sports, but want to make sure it’s done safely and uniformly. As a region, we will be discussing and reviewing the state guidance with our school partners to ensure a consistent, regional approach.  

Bromley said he's also been on conference calls as athletic directions from throughout Section V work to figure out how they will piece together seasons that are starting weeks behind the normal schedule and just weeks before the normal spring schedule begins. And it will likely be a spring with a twist since football can possibly start back up March 1.

The regular spring sports schedule is slated to start April 19.

"The Section V COVID-19 task force and Winter/Fall II sports coordinators have already been communicating to finalize plans with membership," said Shaun Jeffers, spokesman for Section V. "Section V Athletics has 12 different health departments to coordinate with and will communicate with them throughout this process."

Also eligible to begin seasons are boys lacrosse, competitive cheerleading, and volleyball.

Bromley said his response after learning on Friday that high-risk sports were given the go-ahead, "I was so happy for the committed athletes and coaches in our district! We have proven in our fall season that we could successfully host events. Our winter athletes are currently involved in 'open gym' type activities following all COVID-19 protocol. I believe we are ready to safely begin the state-designated 'high risk' sports! Go Devils!"

Click here for the latest guidance (PDF), just released this evening, from NYS Public High School Athletic Association.

Section V Athletics announced eight scholarship winners today to fall sports student-athletes, including one from Genesee County.

The $250 scholarship is awarded to students who excel in scholastics and athletics. Winners are selected based on a letter of recommendation from their coach, their high school transcript and activities sheet, as well as their responses to application questions. There were more than 80 applications for this season’s scholarships.

Press release from Section V:

Girls Soccer: Hope Hersom, Byron-Bergen High School
Hope has been playing soccer for six years, and also participates in basketball and track and field.

She says that highlights from this season include “getting to play my last season with an amazingly talented and young team, making it to the final round of sectionals, and all the positive support I received from my school, family and friends.”

In the fall Hope plans to attend college to study Mechanical Engineering.

She shares that one word that best describes herself is “positive -- no matter what the score was, what was going on, or whether it was a game or practice, I always walked off the field with a smile and encouraging words.”

South Korean technology company Samsung is reportedly eyeing WNY STAMP, along with two locations in Texas, for the construction of a $13 billion chip manufacturing plant.

Citing The Wall Street Journal (paywall), The Hill reports, Samsung aims to become the leader in the $400 billion industry and needs a plant in the Uniited States to make that happen.

Sen. Charles Schumer was in Alabama in August to discuss a congressional push to increase semiconductor manufacturing in the United States as a matter of national defense. The National Defense Authorization Act has not yet been funded.

The Hill reports that Samsung is looking to negotiate with federal officials for financial incentives to build the plant in the United States because it would be cheaper to develop its product in other parts of the world. 

Reportedly, Samsung’s goal is to have a chip-making plant operational by October 2022 and to employ 1,900 people.

o   Genesee County received 76 new positive cases of COVID-19.

• The new positive cases reside in the:
  • West Region (Alabama, Darien, Pembroke)
  • Central Region (Alexander, Batavia, Bethany, Elba, Oakfield)
  • East Region (Bergen, Byron, Le Roy, Pavilion, Stafford)
• The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
• Correction: The following case was double-counted and has been retracted from today’s data; Case in his/her 30s from Batavia.
• Thirty-seven of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list. 
• Eighteen of the positive individuals are hospitalized.
• Five of the new positive cases are residents of the Leroy Village Green Residential Healthcare Facility.
• Two of the new positive cases are residents of the Batavia VA Medical Center.
• Two of the new positive cases are residents of the New York State Veteran’s Home at Batavia.
• Correction: One of the previously reported cases is a resident at the New York State Veterans Home at Batavia.

• Orleans County received 24 new positive cases of COVID-19. 
• The positive cases reside in the:
  • West Region (Yates, Ridgeway, Shelby)
  • Central Region (Carlton, Gaines, Albion, Barre)
  • East Region (Kendall, Murray, Clarendon)
• The individuals are in their 0-19s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.
• Five of the new positive individuals were on quarantine prior to testing positive.
• Twenty-six of the previous positive individuals have recovered and have been removed from the isolation list.
• Thirteen of the current positive individuals are hospitalized.
• One of the new positive cases is a resident of Orchard Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

At Le Roy High School, Regis Pollard's Career & Financial Management conducted a mock job interview competition yesterday with more than 70 students participating along with managers and owners from nine companies in the region.

Video by Principal Tim McArdle.

This video was submitted by Jazmyn Dobson, a teacher at KMS Dance Academy in Batavia. Students and staff, under the direction of owner Erica Grazioplene, put together this video in support of the Buffalo Bills.

The addition of the Batavia Muckdogs to the Perfect Game Colligate Baseball League has apparently prompted the college-ball team in Niagara Falls two switch allegiances, the Niagara Gazette reports.

The Niagara Power will move from the New York Collegiate Baseball League to the PGCBL in 2021.

Patrick Tutka, executive director of the Power, said the move was "win-win-win," especially after the Batavia Muckdogs, formerly of the professional New York-Penn League, agreed to join the PGCBL. The Muckdogs give the PGCBL five former NY-Penn League teams, along with Newark, Geneva, Elmira and Jamestown.

In addition to the PGCBL offering one more nearby potential rival, the PGCBL teams generally play in better facilities, Tutka said.

"The facility quality is much better," Tutka said. "We'll be playing in all former minor league stadiums, while most of the other places (outside home games at Sal Maglie Stadium) we were playing were high school or college fields.

It looks like the PGCBL will have 15 teams in the league for the 2021 season, all in New York.

While clinics in Erie County are being canceled because of a statewide COVID-19 vaccine shortage, Genesee County will receive its anticipated 100 doses for three scheduled clinics next week, a Health Department public information officer said today.

"We have just received notification we will be receiving the same allocations as we did this past week -- 100 for Genesee and 200 for Orleans," said Nola Goodrich-Kresse.

At the same time, she said, state officials informed local officials not to expect an increase in available doses any soon.

"We may receive the same amount (in coming weeks) or possibly less," she said.

While some counties have scheduled clinics in the past, leading to concealed appointments and difficulty then of rescheduling appointments, Goodrich-Kresse said that isn't an issue in Genesee County.

"Some counties chose to schedule their COVID vaccine clinics in advance in the hope supplies would be available," she said. "We, however, took a more conservative approach and are only scheduling clinics when we know we have vaccine and for the amount of vaccine we are getting. We believe this will be somewhat less frustrating and we will not have canceled clinics."

For more information on the upcoming clinics, appointments, and the availability of vaccines through pharmacies, click here.

There have been 56 confirmed COVID-related deaths at nursing homes in Genesee County, according to data from the State Health Department.

Before yesterday, not all of those deaths were included in Genesee County's Health Department regular COVID-19 briefing, which created a public discrepancy between what the County was reporting and what the state was reporting for total deaths locally.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, there were 99 confirmed COVID-related deaths of Genesee County residents, a number that was more than double what the county had been reporting in previous reports.

Nursing homes are not required to report deaths to local officials, only to the state.

The state is reporting deaths at:

• Le Roy Village Green, 22
• Premier Genesee, 10
• Grand Rehabilitation, 6
• NYS Vets Home, 18

Genesee County is gearing up to undertake a host of bridge and culvert projects this spring and summer, including some projects that were put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens told the Public Service Committee on Tuesday.

The better news might be that contractors are eager for work, meaning lower bids on projects.

The committee agreed to recommend to the full legislature a $1.8 million contract for three culvert projects to Union Concrete Construction Corp. of West Seneca.

That bid is about $400,000 less than the engineer estimated, Hens said.

"It's just that the contractors are starving right now," Hens said. "Thankfully, there's been no drawback on state and federal money so there's an empty slate of work and the contractors are all anxious to get back to work and get stuff moving."

The three projects were bundled together, which may have also helped the county save some money, Hens said.

The resolution for the bid also includes hiring CHA Consulting out of Buffalo to handle project inspections. The cost, under the terms of the contract, will not exceed $340,000.

The three projects being awarded to Union Concrete are Meadville Road ($458,527), Sharrick Road ($727,508), and Tower Hill Road ($581,349).

Other anticipated projects in 2021 include a bridge on Hundredmark Road in Elba, the bridge at South Lyons (currently in the design phase), and Darien Alexander Townline Road (also in design).

The projects are funded by BridgeNY, which covers 95 percent of the costs.

Also related to the Highway Department, recommended for approval:

• Purchase of a 6x4 dump truck for $242,371.
• Purchase of a 1/2 ton pickup truck for $31,735.
• Purchase of a skid steer loader for $56,354.
• And for the airport, purchase of Jet-A Refueler for $189,600, and purchase of a AvGas Refueler for $134,990.

A couple dozen protesters outside the Buffalo Federal Detention Center in Batavia yesterday afternoon wanted to be heard by detainees inside so they know there are people who support their health and safety, said Mary Rutigliano.

Rutigliano, a Genesee County resident aligned with the Rochester Rapid Response Network, said there have been COVID-19 positive detainees transferred to Batavia and five of the detainees are on hunger strike.

"If you make enough noise, people on the inside can hear," Rutigliano said. "Last week, we were outside of the ICE field office where Thomas Feeley works, the same office as Delaware North in Buffalo, letting them know and this was part of an effort to let the people here know they don't have as much of a community, (but) there are people out here in this rural area that support them and want them to keep up their efforts."

Feeley, the director of the Enforcement and Removal Office in Buffalo, said there are only two detainees on hunger strike. One was transferred from New Jersey for medical reasons (BFDF has its own medical unit) and his current immigration case is under appeal.

The other case, he said, is being deported and his hunger strike just started.

As for COVID-positive cases in the facility, Feeley said there are currently three in the facility. One was arrested by the border patrol, the other transferred from an outside hospital, and one was arrested and transferred from Boston. All are asymptomatic, he said, and are quarantined.

Rutigliano claimed that there is a COVID-positive person in a pod with 40 other detainees. Feeley said that wasn't accurate. His statement also contradicted Rutigliano's claim that there are symptomatic detainees in the facility. 

Yesterday's protest drew the attention of State Police after dispatchers received a complaint that protesters were blocking the entrance to the facility. A trooper on scene said the protesters moved to an open space next to the gate when three patrol units arrived. The protesters ended their chanting and banging on pots and pans and dispersed a short time later.

A car has reportedly hit a utility pole, with wires down, at Fargo Road and Main Road, Stafford.

Stafford fire along with Mercy EMS dispatched.

A two-vehicle accident with a possible injury is reported on Route 20 at East Road in Bethany.

Bethany fire and ambulance dispatched.

Pavilion fire asked to standby in quarters.

UPDATE 9:03 a.m.: A patient is disoriented and is being cared for inside a neighboring residence.

UPDATE 10:09 a.m.: Patient being transported to UMMC for evaluation.

Genesee County Police Reform & Reinvention Committee Meeting Jan 19, 2021. The committee will review its draft report.

Press release from AAA:

Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.39, up 7 cents from last week. One year ago, the price was $2.55. The New York State average is $2.47 – up 8 cents from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.71.

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

• Batavia -- $2.39 (up 8 cents since last week)
• Buffalo -- $2.43 (up 10 cents since last week)
• Ithaca -- $2.46 (up 11 cents since last week)
• Rochester -- $2.45 (up 9 cents since last week)
• Rome -- $2.48 (up 6 cents since last week)
• Syracuse -- $2.42 (up 8 cents since last week)
• Watertown -- $2.51 (up 10 cents since last week)

Crude prices have been fluctuating and remain over $50 per barrel. The current price this morning is $52 per barrel. Prices rose over market optimism that coronavirus vaccines will help crude demand recover this year. Additionally, EIA’s recent report helped bolster prices, detailing that total domestic crude inventories are on the decline.

If crude prices continue to sustain prices above $50 per barrel alongside higher refinery utilization rates and demand, drivers could see pump prices remain at elevated levels. Current prices are up across the region, but they remain lower than one year ago.

From GasBuddy:

"Gas prices have jumped to yet another multi-month high as crude oil price rise amidst perceived improvement in the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to pump prices up as demand shows renewed signs of recovery," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.

"In addition, with rumors swirling that President-elect Biden plans to cancel the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would cut off reliable Canadian oil to the United States, oil prices may see additional pressure in the coming days. For now, the upward trend in gas prices may slow from the sharp rise in the last week, but motorists shouldn't expect much of a break from rising gas prices, which now stand less than 20 cents from their year-ago levels."

In case you haven't heard, the Buffalo Bills (15-3) are heading to the AFC Championship game, for the first time since 1993, next Sunday. Barber Joey Williams gave Raymond Schramm Jr. a haircut that matches his team pride after yesterday's playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens 17-3.

Submitted photo.