Authorities in Warren County, Pennsylvania are investigating two fatal crashes that occured Wednesday. State Police say the most recent accident occured yesterday afternoon when the driver of a car lost control on Old Route 77 in Spring Creek Township. Troopers say the vehicle slammed into an embankment shortly after 1 PM... and, came to rest upside down in a ditch. Police say one male was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other males and a female were taken to Corry Memorial Hospital for treatment. More when it's available.
A tractor-trailer accident in southern Warren County Wednesday morning has taken the life of the Minnesota man who was driving the big rig. State Police say the 66 year-old man from Plymouth, Minnesota... who has not been identified... was southbound on Route 666 in Sheffield Township as he approached the bridge at Henrys Mill Road shortly after 8 AM. Troopers say the victim failed to negotiate a curve... and, the rig hit the guide rail on the eastside of the span. Police say the tractor then rolled-over... and, went over the guide rail before falling onto the bank next to Tionesta Creek. Troopers say the driver was pronounced dead at the scene by Warren County Coroner Jerry Borden.
The mayor of Dunkirk says he'll be doing his best to convince the State's Public Service Commission not to terminate the 10-year repowering agreement between National Grid and NRG. Democrat Willie Rosas spoke yesterday morning about the latest development in the on-going struggle to get the Dunkirk plant repowered using natural gas. Rosas indicated that he will be sending a letter to the PSC and Governor Andrew Cuomo's office.
But... while Rosas joins other officials -- including State Senator Cathy Young in trying to keep the project alive -- he is already looking at a future without the plant being repowered. He says he met Tuesday with the Common Council's Finance Committee Chairman about that issue... and, how they move forward on their budget "without NRG." Rosas says he has also been in touch with Young about the transition aid that has been included in the state budget for communities like Dunkirk which are facing the closing of coal fired power plants. He says the State Senator assures him that the city will be receiving the transition aid, although Rosas wants to see it in writing.
Several labor unions and environmental groups have teamed up to push New York lawmakers to do more to address climate change. The coalition... called NY Renews... rallied outside the state Capitol Wednesday ahead of an Assembly vote on legislation that would codify some of Governor Andrew Cuomo's clean energy goals. The Democratic governor wants half of New York's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030. But... that effort could be canceled by a future governor. The bill before lawmakers would codify the goal in state law... and, make other changes designed to reduce the state's carbon emissions. President Hector Figueroa of 32-BJ Service Employees International Union, says clean energy is vital to the state's future and will also create good jobs for workers.
A student with the Cassadaga Job Corps is jailed on one-thousand dollars bail for allegedly being found in possession of a large amount of prescription pills late last (Tuesday) night. Sheriff's deputies say they arrested 18 year-old Bader Soliman of Malverne, New York about 9 PM following an investigation by Job Corps Security into allegations Soliman was bringing narcotics into the Job Corps. During the investigation... they found he had a pill jar containing 144 tablets of a controlled substance hidden in his pants. Soliman was arrested for seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance... arraigned in Pomfret Town Court... and, sent to the county lock-up.
It was a good year for school budgets in Chautauqua County... and, across New York state. That from the head of the state School Board's Association... who says 98.5-percent of the nearly 700 spending plans were approved back on May 19th. Executive Director Tim Kreamer says budgets were definately helped by the 1.5-billion dollar boost in Foundation Aid... and, eliminating the so-called "Gap Elimination Adjustment." Kreamer says the moves allowed most school boards to stay under the state's Property Tax Cap. Kreamer says while the state billed the cap as a 2-percent cap... it would default to the rate to the cost of inflation -- which ever is lower. Those budgets were approved by more than 78-percent of those districts. However... Kreamer says it's too early to say if this is a trend against the cap. However... he believes there's a growing number of people who now believe the tax cap is "too onerous" to local schools and governments. Kreamer says... he doesn't believe that those who created the Property Tax Cap... wanted to see "negative caps."
He's been on the Jamestown School Board before... but, it's been about eight years since he last served. With that... Joe Pawelski says he'll be getting up to speed over the next several months on the newer issued facing the board. Pawelski says he decided to run for the board again after hearing the news that incumbant Board President Joe DiMaio would not be running for re-election. In fact... he says that was the main factor behind his successful run. However... while he was quick to jump into a write-in campaign... Pawelski says he'll spend a lot of time listening to all the issues for the next 4 to 6 months to get a "full-grasp" of what's happening. The other board incumbant... Patrick Slagle... says he was pleased to be re-elected... and, see their budget pass. He says they were able to keep staff intact... and, that should help going forward. With an improved budget picture... Slagle says he wants to see some staff added back to balance out the district's educational programming. He was the top vote-getter in the May 19th election, with 851 votes.... while Pawelski was second with well-over 600 write-in votes.
Gasoline prices in the Jamestown-area have increased another penny this week... and, are hovering just under 2-dollars-49 cents a gallon for regular, unleaded fuel. That from the Triple-A's weekly Fuel Gauge Report... which bases the average on reports from 19 local service stations in the area. Last week's average was just under 2--48 a gallon. At this time last year... gasoline was 2-dollars-94 cents per gallon. The national average is currently 2--32 a gallon. Nationally... the 2016 summer driving season is officially underway... and, drivers are paying the lowest gas prices for this time of year in more than a decade. Gas prices for the Memorial Day holiday were the cheapest since 2005 and were down 42-cents per gallon versus last year’s holiday. Today’s average price of 2--32 represents an increase of three cents per gallon on the week, and consumers are paying 11 cents more per gallon on the month. This Summer's driving season is expected to be characterized by higher -than- normal gasoline demand, and demand remains on pace to test record levels reached in 2007. Refineries nationwide are working in preparation for what is likely to be record breaking season and if they are able to keep pace, pump prices should remain relatively lower.
