Dale’s Briefs – Tuesday October 25th

All of the 55 people aboard a tour bus that caught fire on the Thruway yesterday morning got out safely. The fire in the eastbound lanes near the Williamsville tolls blocked traffic in both directions and caused huge back-ups on the Thruway. It took a couple of hours to get traffic back to normal.

In Niagara County, two people have been arrested in connection with an explosion on Military Road in the Town of Niagara that destroyed a two story house and injured a motorist driving by. Niagara County Sheriff’s say Eric Waterstram and Crystal Knepp cut a copper gas line from the house and sold it for a hundred dollars as scrap. The gas leak and explosion leveled the house and caused $150-thousand dollars damage.

The NFTA is projecting a 15-million dollar budget shortfall next year and they say it’s because of things beyond their control. Even with service cutbacks and increased fares, they say they can’t do anything about rising fuel and workmen’s compensation costs. They’re asking for the state to step in and help.

A more than 450 year old painting by Michelangelo that was discovered in a Tonawanda home last year is being shown at an art exhibit in Rome. Martin Kober says the painting was stored behind a couch in the family home for many years. It’s been restored to nearly the way it looked when it was first painted.

The final destination for an alligator found in a Niagara County creek has yet to be determined. The SPCA says the 30-inch alligator likely was somebody’s pet until it got too big and was released into the wild.

Buffalo police have caught up with a credit card thief. Keith Winston is charged with burglary and grand larceny. He’s accused of stealing credit cards while causing a distraction in various businesses in the city, then going on a shopping spree with those credit cards in various department stores.

The Occupy Buffalo movement is growing. A core group of 50 or so protesters have been camped out in Niagara Square for over two weeks with more and more demonstrators joining. The group says they’re part of the national movement addressing grievances against the federal government.

The Buffalo Sabres will be without one of their starters for awhile. Forward Tyler Ennis suffered an ankle injury in Saturday's loss to Tampa Bay, and is now listed as "week-to-week". The Sabres host the Lightning tonight in the first of a five-game home stand.