Yesterday, the Buffalo Bills announced via their website that season ticket prices will not see an increase for the upcoming season. They also announced that tickets in the Tops Family Corner and Coors Light Rockpile sections will actually see reduced ticket prices for the 2012 season. The team also announced that the preseason game previously scheduled to be played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto will now be played at Ralph Wilson Stadium, due to a scheduling conflict in Toronto.

The Gowanda Fire Department honored a 9-year-old boy whose cool headedness helped save his friends and family from a recent fire in their home. Justice Lee was sleeping when he awoke to smoke in his room. He ran upstairs, turning on lights and rousing his friends and family members and got them safely evacuated. The fire department was able to keep the flames contained to the basement.Justice had taken part in the Fire Prevention Course given by firefighter Kathy Camp each year at Gowanda Schools. Justice was given an award to honor his bravery.

A state Supreme Court judge has upheld a community’s ban on gas drilling, in the first ruling on whether local governments can prevent drilling through local ordinances in New York state. Dozens of towns and cities have adopted bans against drilling with the controversial practice of high-volume hydraulic fracturing. Anschutz Exploration filed suit in September against the town of Dryden’s ban, saying only the state has authority to regulate gas drilling. State Supreme Court Justice Phillip Rumsey ruled Tuesday that the state’s mining law doesn’t stop towns from banning drilling through zoning ordinances.

State police say two Coudersport teens escaped injury when the pick-up truck they were in crashed on route 6 in Roulette late Sunday. Troopers said 19-year old Corry Gaberseck was driving when his truck went off the road and struck an Allegany Campground sign. The vehicle then became airborne slamming into a utility pole and sheering it off. Some power outages were reported and route 6 was shut down for a while.

Congressman Tom Reed claims there is still waste in federal spending and he says he is stepping up efforts to find waste and cut spending. Reed cites his successful efforts last year in the House to remove more than $173 million of spending. The first area of waste Reed is targeting is the more than $100 million in benefits he says is paid erroneously each year to deceased federal employees. By its own estimate Reed says, the Office of Personnel Management has made more than $601 million in benefits payments to deceased federal employees during the last five years. He says that’s not exactly proper stewardship of taxpayer money.

A Salamanca man facing attempted murder and other charges has pleaded not guilty. 24-year old Allen Larkin Jr. is also charged with felony assault, menacing and possessing a weapon. Prosecutors say the charges stem from a December 11th incident in Salamanca when Larkin allegedly used a weapon and caused injury to a woman in what police described as an unprovoked attack.. He remains jailed. The case was placed on hold for 45 days so attorneys could file motions.

There are no definitive findings that Marcellus Shale drilling activity has affected crime rates in Pennsylvania. That’s according to a preliminary report conducted by the Justice Center for Research at Penn State. The report was produced in response to public concerns that crime rates may be on the rise in areas experiencing drilling-related population growth. The study covers a four years period ending in 20-10. The study says there were no consistent increases in arrests or calls to the Pennsylvania State Police in counties with high Marcellus-drilling activity.

Dig up more cash to dump the trash. Effective March 1st, the fees to dispose of garbage at Cattaraugus County refuse stations will increase. County legislators voted last year at budget time to approve the increase, the first since 2004. It was seen as a way to generate up to $300,000 more in revenues in the 2012 budget. The price to discard household garbage will jump from $1 to $1.50 for a 15- gallon white kitchen bag or equivalent and it will be 3 bucks for the big bags. (30 gallon)

Gas prices in WNY have increased in the past month, pushing the average price in the area close to $4 per gallon. According to the latest figures from Triple A , western New York prices are at an average of $3.83 per gallon for regular gasoline. That is a $ .20 increase from a month ago in the region. A year ago, WNY drivers were paying almost $ .50 less per gallon, on average.

Dying might get a tad more expensive in New York. Tucked into the hundreds of pages of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s proposed budget is this new fee: $20 for the state to launch a death certificate database. The administration said it proposed the fee in consultation with the New York State Funeral Directors’ Association.