Category: PostNews

Xi Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is pleased to announce that $500 scholarships will be awarded in 2022 to high school graduating seniors attending public or charter schools in the Buffalo and Amherst School Districts.

These awards are made possible by a generous donation from the estate of Mrs. Georgie Stokes Walker who truly appreciated the value of education.

Scholarship applications and the criteria for an award have been  distributed to guidance  counselors in the respective school districts and available  to students.

Awards will be made to deserving students with a demonstrated need.

Applicants should submit completed applications to the email  xeo@xiepsilonomega.com o mail to  P.O. Box  Xi Epsilon Omega Chapter PO Box 1851 Amherst, NY 14226 no later than February 11, 2022.

Mrs. Linda F. Seay is the president of Xi Epsilon Omega Chapter. Mrs. Constance M.Moss. Ph.D. is the Chairman of the Georgie Stokes Walker Scholarship Committee.

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WIVB) — Richard Baer, 54, was taken into custody around 10:47 a.m. Monday morning after he was found in possession of over 11 grams of methamphetamine, according to Jamestown police.

Baer was slumped over the steering wheel of his car, asleep, when found by Jamestown PD. When officers went to check on him, they discovered he was under the influence of drugs and upon bringing him into custody, they found over 11 grams of meth on his person.

Driver of tractor-trailer that fatally struck teen in Jamestown facing new felony charge

He is reportedly being held until arraignment on charges of felony criminal possession in the third degree and driving while ability-impaired by drugs.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo and Southern Erie County have issued a Code Blue 15 for Tuesday, Jan. 18 into Wednesday.

Code Blue locations include:

412 Niagara St., Buffalo, N.Y. 14201 (Holy Cross) from 6 p.m. – 7 a.m. The location is not accessible, clients must be able to use stairs.586 Genesee St., Buffalo, N.Y. 14204 (Formerly a women’s shelter but will be open to all for Code Blues). The location will be open 24/7 and is accessible.  7207 Hunters Creek Road Lot 15, Holland, N.Y. 14080 (The Rural Outreach Center) from 7 p.m. – 7 a.m.

586 Genesee Street and The Rural Outreach Center Code Blue Shelters will be open during the day Wednesday, Jan. 19 as daytime warming centers. 

Code Blue Clients will be able to get bus tickets to the shelter at the NFTA METRO Transportation Center from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Sunday. They will not be allowed to wait at the NFTA outside of those hours. Those who require transportation to the Rural Outreach Center shelter should call (716) 222-4020, or (716) 240-2220 ext. 106. 

To receive Code Blue updates for Buffalo or Southern Erie County, text CodeBlueBuffalo or CodeBlueSouthernErie to 898-211. Outside of Erie County, contact local law enforcement or 211 for information.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WIVB) — A new project by the Genesee Brewing Company is pushing to get more people outside and supporting local businesses this winter. It’s called GeneSEE New York.

The company created an interactive map which shows people all the activities they can enjoy in our area — as well as local restaurants nearby to warm up and grab a beer. The map includes places like parks, ski resorts, ice rinks and more. Those with Genesee Brewing say they wanted to give back and encourage people to support their local businesses.

To view the map, click here.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Any Bills fans still trying to go to the game in Kansas City on Sunday should move quickly.

Tickets are in high demand and flight prices will only go up as the game gets closer.

As the Bills put more points on the board against the Patriots Saturday night, ticket prices for the divisional round in Kansas City, not even set at the time, started climbing.

“If Buffalo’s in the game, they know their fans are gonna show up and that’s what we saw as I’m watching the Bills game and I noticed Kansas City prices going higher and higher every time the Bills seemed to score,” said Nick Giammusso, CEO of VIP Tix.

The demand has only gone up since then.

Giammusso said there were originally 5,000 tickets available in the secondary market. Now there are less than 3,000, going for $150 and up.

“We’re starting to see less and less tickets into the market that are out there so that probably just means prices are gonna rise as we get closer to the game.”

Once fans have the tickets, they’ll have to decide how to get there.

“There’s no direct flights out of the Buffalo airport, so you definitely have to have a connection but they started at $450 and they go up from there. Also I should point out we do know Bills Mafia are scooping up these tickets because it shows that some Southwest flights have sold out compared to yesterday,” said Elizabeth Carey, director of PR and corporate communications for AAA.

Carey said hotels near the airport are cheapest, some under $100 per night.

You’ll pay more downtown but you’ll be closer to the stadium and can avoid having to rent a car.

Another way to bring your trip tab down: drive.

“If you’re looking at the flights saying, ‘ouch, that’s a little too much money’ you could drive. It is 971 miles from Highmark Stadium to Arrowhead Stadium so it is doable if you have time on your hands. It’ll take you more than 14 hours to get there but if you think about the price of gas, round trip gas is gonna be just over $200 so that’s less than a one way ticket.”

If you do plan to fly, she recommends leaving Friday or Saturday night to give yourself plenty of time in case of delays.

AAA also has a Kansas City travel guide for the extra time you’re not at the game.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — People across the city are still digging out their cars tonight and many side streets haven’t even been touched by a city plow.

News 4 was outside in the city most of the day and saw plenty of vehicles stuck on the roads. One resident said at least a dozen cars got stuck on his street because it just wasn’t plowed.

“We clean ourselves,” said North Buffalo resident Antonina Volpe. “Me, her, my neighbor next door, but it’s a mess over here.”

“Definitely the side streets — I was pretty shocked,” added Erica Hein, another resident of the area. “I was taking my daughter to school this morning and it was a little sketchy out there so the side roads need a little extra work I think.”

Across North Buffalo, side streets like Saranac Avenue remained covered with snow, causing vehicle after vehicle to get stuck.

“We’ve been lucky with the snow plows in the past few years, but this year they’ve just been ignoring this whole neighborhood,” said Daniel Clark. “So we’re hoping they come by today, but if all these giant trucks are stuck here, I don’t see how they’re going to get through and fix anything.”

Patrick Kerins decided to spend his day helping dig out cars and trucks stuck on residential streets. He says by noon he helped pull out at least eight vehicles.

City officials say crews were focused on main streets and secondary roads first and are now shifting their focus to residential neighborhoods and that there’s still a lot of work left to do.

“One of the challenges we’re seeing out there especially on residential streets, folks getting stuck in cars,” said Michael Finn, commissioner of the Department of Public Works. “Cars get stuck, plows aren’t able to get down so in a sense there’s a lot of working together with residents to work through those issues.”

The DPW urges residents that if their cars are parked on an unplowed side street to try and move it, and if possible, park it on a main street that is plowed. That will help plow crews get through.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Buffalo Public School district made a quick flip flop on their decision to close schools Tuesday after a winter weather storm socked the city and much of Western New York over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

District officials say, they were at first optimistic and decided to keep schools open, then after further consultation with the city of Buffalo, they decided to close schools.

“The district wanted to make its best efforts to get opened. We already have two snow days that we utilized,” said Nathaniel Kuzma, general counsel for Buffalo Public Schools “We wanted to make the best efforts for our students, because they come to school, it’s where they stay warm, where they’re fed, where they have access to services. It became clear to us, after that initial call was made, that the city streets were not going to be in a situation where we could safely have staff and students transporting.”

ALBANY, N.Y. (WIVB) – In November, Governor Kathy Hochul said she expected to be able to address state funding for a new Buffalo Bills stadium in her budget. But as negotiations over a new facility between New York State, Erie County, and the team continue, there was no appropriation for one when she released her proposed spending plan on Tuesday

“There hasn’t been any determination because we don’t have a dollar number of what the contribution would be yet,” said New York State Budget Director Robert Mujica. “Those talks are ongoing.”

There’s still plenty of time for stadium funding to be included in the state’s 2023 fiscal year. The state constitution allows Hochul 30 days to submit amendments after sending her initial proposal to the legislature. After that time, she would need to get approval from the legislature to make additional changes. The budget doesn’t have to be finalized until April 1.

A Pegula Sports and Entertainment spokesperson had no comment on Hochul’s budget proposal. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Tuesday progress is being made at the negotiating table.

“It’s a complicated transaction,” Poloncarz said during a COVID briefing. “It’s better to get it right than to just say, “We’re going to get it done by an arbitrary timeline.'”

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) – Revolver Records has been a mainstay in Western New York for several years.

Music lovers have come to rely on the record store for buying and selling records, now the store is evolving into an entertainment hub.

“I started out basically selling records out of my garage, and from there, I moved on to markets and selling at different places around the city,” said owner Phil Machmer. “I was like a mobile record shop and about six years ago, I settled into my Hertel location.”

Along with the Hertel Avenue location, there’s a location in the Elmwood Village, and a new location at 6840 Transit Rd. in Williamsville, which opened last year.

“This shop is quite a bit bigger. It’s about three times the size of the Elmwood store and four times the size of the Hertel shop,” Machmer said. “We just have a lot more room for records here. There’s a bigger selection.”

When you visit, you can expect, not only a large collection of vinyl, but you’ll find arcade games, books, trading cards, live music performances and a café featuring snacks and at least 140 different soda flavors.

“When I was a kid, I loved going to in store performances at record stores, I always thought that it was really fun,” said Machmer. “We’ve had a few in the past at the other shops, and it’s a really fun experience to have a band play.”

For more information on Revolver Records visit https://www.facebook.com/Revolver-Records-Inc