Category: PostNews

SANBORN, NY (WIVB) — A former Niagara-Wheatfield student is suing the Niagara-Wheatfield School District claiming it did not protect her from sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation.

The claims in the federal lawsuit are disturbing, with the plaintiff in this case being raped by a classmate in 2018. She and her attorney, Barry Covert are seeking damages, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the victim, “had to face her rapist every day as if nothing happened. She was repeatedly subjected to discrimination, harassment and bullying,” and that she suffers from mental health issues.

Nearly two years ago, Elias Dowdy, a former Niagara-Wheatfield student was sentenced to 10 years probation and was granted youthful offender status for raping the victim at his home.

Now, in court papers, the victim and her attorney says the district, “it failed to take any meaningful action against her perpetrators or to protect her from present or future harassment.”

The suit claims that despite being charged with rape and having an order of protection against him, which the school knew about, Dowdy was still allowed to attend school and harass the victim who was a senior at the time.

Former Niagara-Wheatfield student sentenced 10-years-probation after rape of fellow student

If these claims sound familiar that’s because they are — last summer the New York State Attorney General’s Office sued Niagara-Wheatfield Schools claiming the district ignored complaints from students of rape, assault, sexual harassment and bullying — saying at the time, there had been more than 30 documented incidents in recent years and not a single safety plan to respond to physical or sexual assault or harassment.

“NWCSD repeatedly and egregiously failed the very students it was required by law to educate and to protect. It deliberately and callously ignored complaints by students of rape, assault, sexual harassment, and gender-based bullying, and it failed to take any meaningful action against perpetrators or to protect victims from future harassment,” the lawsuit says, “On multiple occasions, students have reported sexual assault and harassment to the District, but the District took no action to protect them from their assailants and harassers.”

The AG’s Office says it wasn’t until students began to protest that Dowdy was expelled. Also, the principal at the time, Michael Mann resigned.

According to court documents, a mediator has been appointed in the state’s civil case against Niagara-Wheatfield and the case has not settled and at this point is heading toward trial.

The district issued this statement:

“The Niagara Wheatfield Central School District was made aware of the civil suit filed against the District.  While we sincerely empathize with our former student for the criminal act that happened to her off of school property in May of 2018, we deny any wrongdoing by the District as alleged in the Complaint.  The District strongly believes its actions were in compliance with applicable laws and will vigorously defend its position.   The District will respond in greater detail through the court proceedings and will not provide additional comment due to this pending litigation,” said Daniel G. Ljiljanich, superintendent of Niagara Wheatfield Central School District.

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — The votes are in, and three Starbucks locations in Cheektowaga, Amherst and Depew have voted to unionize.

The stores join two other area locations that successfully organized, Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo and Genesee Street in Cheektowaga.

The Walden Avenue and Anderson Road store came to a vote of 8-7, and Sheridan Drive and N. Bailey Avenue location in Amherst unionized with a 15-12 decision. Two ballots at the Amherst store were contested.

Employees at the Starbucks in Depew on Transit Road and French Road also unionized with a vote of 15-12, two ballots there were contested.

Unionization votes delayed at 3 area Starbucks stores

The delayed vote comes after Starbucks appealed a National Labor Relations Board order to hold the election, the coffee chain requesting a review back in January.

“We went 3/3 today, doubling the number of unionized Starbucks in the United States. Partners in Buffalo, NY, overcame incredible union-busting odds to stand together and win. #WhyWeOrganize,” Starbucks Workers United tweeted.

A Starbucks in Mesa, Arizona became the first store outside of Buffalo to unionize on Feb. 25.

“Starbucks workers have now voted to join unions 6 out of 7 times. Union elections will soon be held in over 120 more shops. The movement to unionize Starbucks is spreading like wildfire. Now, would be a very good time for Starbucks to end union busting & embrace this movement,” added Senator Bernie Sanders in a tweet.

CLARENCE, N.Y. (WIVB) — State police confirm Luke Malinich, the driver of the car involved in a fatal crash in Clarence on Monday, had a learner’s permit.

They also confirmed passenger Lauren Taggart had a junior license.

According to New York State law, anyone with a permit is required to have a parent, guardian, or someone 21 or older with a license in the car anytime they’re driving.

With a junior license, drivers can’t have more than one passenger under 21 in the car unless additional passengers are immediate family members.

Fatal car crashes caused the death of four local teens in the past week.

Two 19-year-olds, Molly Kaminski and Mackenzie Mycek, also died in a crash in Lancaster last week.

Police said speed was a factor in both and AAA driving instructor Victor Morales said this is common.

“We are seeing an increase in teen crashes and a lot of that is because they aren’t taking the speed factor seriously. We have to remember they’re inexperienced and that lack of awareness, we have to keep reminding them to be consistent with watching the speed,” he said.

He also said to adjust speed to weather conditions.

Morales said one of the main things he stresses to teen drivers is to always be aware.

“Don’t only pay attention to the signs, the signals, and lane markings, watch traffic and watch what other people are doing and anticipate what they might do so you have a chance to respond in time,” he said. “Keep a huge donut of space around your car to the front and to the side, never drive side-by-side always drive staggered so you have someplace to go.”

He said distractions including cell phones and having several people in the car can also lead to crashes.

“Even just talking even to a driving instructor can be a distraction so I try to limit the amount of talking in the vehicle. And kids always hear, ‘look at me when I’m talking to you,’ I make sure I tell them right of the bat, ‘while we’re driving, don’t look at me, just listen to me so you don’t have to turn your head. Pay attention to the road.'”

Checking mirrors and blind spots are also good habits to get into.

Morales said it takes about five years to become just an average driver and even experienced drivers never stop practicing.

Police are still investigating the crash in Clarence and on Tuesday said they will try to get the black box from the car to get more information including the car’s speed when it crashed.

Kayla Green is a reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.

HAMBURG N.Y. (WIVB) – As the war wages in Ukraine and Russia furthers their invasion, a Hamburg couple is asking for the community’s help. News 4 caught up with Alina and Jon Pierowicz who are trying to get their loved ones out of the war torn country.

“It’s been extremely difficult for my family because they’re in Brovary, in one of the villages with the soldiers there. We don’t know what to do, we don’t know who to turn to. We feel extremely helpless,” Alina said.

Alina is originally from Ukraine and moved to Western New York when she was a child.

Alina and her father arriving to the U.S.

She still has more than a dozen relatives in Ukraine, close to where the violence is.

“Most of my family on my mom’s side still lives in Ukraine,” Alina said. “They are extremely scared of evacuating.”

With the war going on she’s had limited contact with her family there.

“The last four days or so it’s been in and out with reception, the service there,” said she. “A lot of the times when we can’t contact them, we don’t know if they’re still alive or if the family is no longer alive.”

Alina and Jon decided to help Alina’s family get out of Ukraine and somewhere safe and so they started a GoFundMe.

“We had so many people reach out to us, reach out to my wife Alina, asking what can we do to help,” Jon said.

The Pierowicz family says traveling to the border of Ukraine and Poland from where their loved ones are, is dangerous.

“When you hear stories of people that you know from their village going through something like this you end up fearing for their life and you don’t know what to do and having zero control here in America,” Alina said.

The couple says ideally they’d want to bring their family to Western New York.

“A desired outcome would certainly be an evacuation to Poland and then to America,” Jon said. “The difficulty, as my wife mentioned, is that our grandfather is in a wheelchair. Transporting anyone in a wheelchair is difficult, let alone in Ukraine, let alone through a war zone.”

The couple has raised more than $6,000 so far, which is going toward evacuation expenses, first aid supplies, food and clothing.

“These people were trying to develop their nation, live in peace and they deserve our support,” Jon said. “The bravery they’ve displayed in protecting their independence is something that’s worthy of our support.”

Alina is also a real estate agent and says 100 percent of the commission on her next closing is going toward helping her family and other families in Ukraine.

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — State lawmakers are now calling on Governor Hochul to allow funding for free breakfast and lunch for students in grades K-12 in the New York State budget.

“So many students across New York and across the U.S. are food insecure,” explained Julie Raway of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “One in Five in New York State, and it’s really important that they have access to school meals. A healthy nutrient-rich meal at school every day.”

In an effort to help students in grades K-12 focus better in school, some state lawmakers would like the governor to include Healthy Meals for all New York Kids in the state budget.

“The program will cost about $200 Million, stated Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas. “But we have to remember, it’s $200 Million in a New York State budget of $216 Billion. So, it’s really a drop in the bucket to ensure that our school children across the state have access to healthy nutritious meals.”

This would provide free, healthy breakfast and lunch for students regardless of where they live and their family’s income level.

“50 percent of their nutrients they can access at school,” said Raway. “So with school breakfast and lunch, there’s a lot of fruits and vegetables offered, whole grains, proteins in milk which is a well-balanced meal for a student and gets them ready to learn throughout the day.”

At the start of the pandemic, a federal program similar to this was implemented in some schools across the state. However, it is set to expire in June. That’s why advocates are pushing for this to be put in place statewide soon.

“If the wavier expires and we take no action, over 2,000 schools would be impacted across the state and 800,000 students. So that’s so many lives that will be impacted by lack of access to healthy breakfast and lunch in schools,” said González-Rojas.

Assemblymember González-Rojas added states such as New Jersey, Vermont, and Maine already does this and that New York should follow suit. Capitol Correspondent, Jamie DeLine reached out to Governor Hochul’s office for a comment but did not get a response.

LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) – More than 150 workers at Ascension Living at Our Lady of Peace in Lewiston are on strike Wednesday as they ask the nursing home’s owner for better pay and better staffing.

Members of 1199 SEIU have been working without a contract since December 31, union officials say. Their next negotiation session is scheduled for March 21.

“We deserve better wages,” said Jackie Vincent, a nurse at the facility. “We work hard. We’ve worked through COVID. We’ve had people quit. The ones that are here now striking, we’re the ones that stayed and weathered the storm.”

Staffing shortages have been a constant concern across the health care industry throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Theresa Tomlin, who has been a CNA at Our Lady of Peace for 11 years, believes better pay will get more workers in the door.

“We need to meet our competitors’ wages,” Tomlin said. “This little chump change isn’t working anymore.”

According to Grace Bogdanove, the Vice President for 1199 SEIU’s Western New York Nursing Home Division, Ascension Living is offering starting rates betwen $1 and $5 below the standard starting rates for area facilities.

A spokesperson for Ascension Living didn’t specifically address that claim. But in a statement, she did say the organization was “disappointed” the union proceeded with the strike Wednesday.

“We have been bargaining in good faith with SEIU and look forward to reaching a mutually beneficial agreement,” the spokesperson said. She added the facility enacted a “comprehensive contingency plan” to take care of residents Wednesday.

Our Lady of Peace has a four-star overall rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. However, it has just a two-star staffing rating.

The strike organized by 1199 SEIU will last just one day. Members will be back at work at 7 a.m. Thursday.

LEWISTON, N.Y. (WIVB) — Effective immediately, Artpark is dropping any entry requirements related to COVID-19.

The Lewiston venue announced that guests no longer need to wear a mask to get in, nor do they need to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test.

Numerous concerts at Artpark have recently been announced. Most recently, they shared that Death Cab for Cutie, Ziggy Marley and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats will be appearing over the summer.

Other artists coming to Artpark include Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello, Jack White and “Weird Al” Yankovic.

The New York State budget legislation enacted in 2021 included an expansion of the Excelsior Jobs Incentives Program. The Excelsior Jobs Incentives Program provides job creation and investment incentives for businesses in targeted industries in the form of refundable tax credits that can be claimed over a benefit period of up to 10 years, if the eligible business meets and maintains established job and investment thresholds.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The man who’s currently serving 64 years to life in prison for killing a woman and her grandchild has admitted to another fatal shooting that happened more than a year earlier.

Kenyatta Austin, 29, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of 24-year-old Luis Flores. In March 2017, Flores was shot on E. Ferry Street near Bissell Avenue, dying a short time later.

In July of the following year, Austin killed Yvette Johnson, 54, and her 17-month-old grandson Kyrie Johnson. It happened outside a home on Grape Street.

Two other people were shot during that incident, but they lived.

For the killing of Flores, Austin could be sentenced to 25 years in prison. He’ll be back in court on May 9.