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WJTN News Headlines

The two men accused of taking part in the drive-by shooting of a Jamestown man have now been charged with second-degree attempted murder.  City Police Captain Bob Samuelson says the Chautauqua County Grand Jury Monday handed up the indictments against 23 year-old Alex Jewell... and, 31 year-old Michael Robinson.  Meantime... Samuelson says the victim... a city man... remains in critical condition at the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo.  He says both Jewell and Robinson alleged drove into the Tops Market parking lot at 2000 Washington Street about 6 PM Friday, July 24th... and, opened fire on the man.  Samuelson says the victim was hit multiple times by the gun shots.  Both were arrested the following day... after the car they allegedly used was found on the city's southside.  They were initially charged with first-degree assault.  Samuelson says both men were arraigned on the new charge... and, sent back to the County Jail on one-million dollars cash bail each.

 

Stand-up comedian and actress Amy Schumer is teaming up with U-S Senator Charles Schumer to call for tighter gun control.  She joined the Senator Monday to unveil a three-part plan that would make it harder for violent criminals and mentally ill to obtain guns.  They cited the recent shooting in a Louisiana movie theater that killed two women and injured nine others during a screening of the movie ``Trainwreck'' starring Amy Schumer.  Amy Schumer is the senator's cousin.  The senator's legislation would create monetary rewards for states that submit all necessary records into the background check system and penalize states that do not.  He also called on Congress to preserve mental health funding and substance abuse programs.

 

Organizers with the annual Chautauqua County Fair are pleased with the end result of the seven-day event near Dunkirk.  County Fair Board President Dave Wilson says a lot of people were "very happy" with this year's fair. Wilson says the weather we have had over the past week was a key factor. Wilson does not have final attendance figures yet... but, he says that fairgoers - overall - were respectable, and the Board is pleased with the turnout.  He also says a record number of animals were sold during the 4-H Meat Animal Sale on Friday.  A large group of teens were reportedly involved in a huge brawl at the County Fair last Saturday night... forcing police to shut it down early.  However... no one was seriously hurt.  The fair did resume, and finish up it's week-long run Sunday.

 

Chautauqua County's Congressman is calling for the suspension of federal funding for Planned Parenthood in light of allegations of one chapter allegedly harvesting and selling fetal body parts.  Corning Republican Tom Reed made his comments yesterday in light of the recent furor over a lengthy, undercover video made by a group opposed to Planned Parenthood.  During his weekly conference call with Southern Tier media... Reed said the temporary suspension would allow an investigation to go foward to determine whether this happened... and, who was involved. Reed says -- if what's shown on the video tape is true -- at least the Planned Parenthood chapter involved is violating the law.  He adds he would hope that Planned Parenthood... which has a Finger Lakes chapter in his district... would support an investigation to clear it's name.  Reed's comments came before Senate Democrats blocked an effort to cut off federal funding late yesterday.  He says he will continue to support efforts to provide access to women's healthcare... and, counseling for victims of sexual abuse and rape.

 

The annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival was another big success -- led by the two sell-out crowds for Jerry Seinfeld at the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena.  That from Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center of Comedy Director Journey Gunderson... who says festival officials were both pleased, and "thrilled" by the turn-out for all of the 40-plus events that took place during the four-day event.  Gunderson says there were a lot of favorable comments abound Seinfeld. There was also a lot of buzz about a downtown "light-show" at the arena that many people saw Saturday night.  Gunderson says they also did an interview for the new, National Comedy Center with Seinfeld in between shows.  She says Seinfeld made one interesting point during that interview that stood out... and, that was that comedy and jazz are two things that are "uniquely American."  Gunderson says Seinfeld also posed for a special picture with Kelly Carlin... the daughter of George Carlin... and, Harold Ramis' son... Julian Ramis.  Gunderson also introduced a couple of other shows... and, while they weren't sell-outs... they were well-attended.

 

The county's Department of Motor Vehicles' new location in Jamestown is now open at it's new location on the city's westside.  County Clerk Larry Barmore says the new location, at 512 West Third Street, opened at 8 AM Monday.  Barmore says the location will be newer, brighter and more customer friendly.  He adds that most people drove to the old location in the South County Office Building... but, parking was a problem.  Barmore says there are 18 FREE off-street parking spaces next to the building... and, plenty of nearby on-street parking.  A grand opening is expected later this month.

 

The language of the Seneca Nation is one of several that have either becoming lost... or, in danger of vanishing from the earth.  That from Monday's featured lecturer at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater... who spoke on the topic of lost languages.  Associate Professor of lingustics at Swarthmore College, K. David Harrison, spoke on a number of languages... including Seneca.  Speaking with our Jim Roselle... Harrison says the Seneca Language is where the word "Chautauqua" comes from. Harrison spoke to lead off "Vanishing" week at the institution... and, says he was providing the audience with a tour of the world's languages that have been lost.  He addressed the question of "why should we care?"  Harrison says it provides an alternative view of the world we live in.  Harrison says what's interesting about a lot of the languages that have been lost... or are being threatened with being lost... is that are not formally written out.  He says he's met story tellers who can recite 10-thousand lines of a story that isn't written.

 

A Jamestown couple escaped serious injuries after the motorcycle they were riding struck a deer on Route 59 in Warren County's Mead Township late Sunday afternoon.  State Police in Warren say 61 year-old Lance Hedlund was westbound about 4:30 PM when the deer entered the roadway.  Troopers say Hedlund applied the brakes... but, was unable to avoid the collision.  Police say he lost control after hitting the animal... but, the bike slid on it's right side into the eastbound lane and berm about 230-feet.  Troopers say both Hedlund and his passenger, 58 year-old Rhonda Hedlund, were wearing helmets.  He suffered a minor injury... while his wife was treated for moderate injuries at Warren General Hospital.  No charges were filed.  

 

The Chautauqua Lake Dragon Boat Festival... scheduled for August 29th... has been postponed.  Organizers say in order to generate more rowers and more sponsors, the event will be put on hold until next year.  A date for the 2016 festival has not be determined, as yet.  For more information, contact the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation in Jamestown.