Community Spotlight, the area's longest running local public affairs radio program, airs on all six Media One Radio Group stations each weekend and is also available to hear in our Podcast Section.  Each week we sit down with a community leader or another special guest to talk about issues within our community.  


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WJTN News Headlines

 

A total of 35 drinking fountains, sinks and other fixtures used for drinking and cooking in the Jamestown School System have been found to be over the state's "acceptable level" for lead.  That from School Superintendent Tim Mains... who says all of those fixtures have been turned-off immediately until they can be fixed.  Mains reported the findings of state-required testing last night to the school board... saying the good news is that there was no lead found in the drinking water itself. Mains says if a fixture was found to have a level above the "acceptable" level of 15 parts per billion in a kitchen... it was turned off... and, an alternate water source was used for food preparation.  He says it will be an "easy fix" for the district... which he says had already begun testing before the final state regulations came out.  However... Mains says they had to go back and test bathroom sinks, though.  Mains says the most fixtures needing to be replaced -- 13 -- were found at Fletcher Elementary School.  For a listing of the schools, and test results can be found at the district's website at Jamestownpublicschools-dot-ORG.

 

The first arctic outbreak of the season is expected to trigger the lake effect snow-making machine later this week.  The National Weather Service has now issued a Lake Effect Snow Warning from 6AM Thursday morning through 6AM Saturday for Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and southern Erie counties.  Forecaster Bob Hamilton in Buffalo says some locations along the Chautauqua Ridge could see up to 2 feet of snow. The weather service says some parts of the region could see upwards of three feet.  But... Hamilton adds that areas along Lake Erie... with higher amounts along the Chautauqua Ridge.  He expects the snow to develop over the Buffalo area Thursday morning and move southward by late in the day.  Much of the activity will remain over the Chautauqua Ridge through early Saturday.

 

A Cattaraugus County man has been arrested for allegedly setting several small fires inside a Jamestown-area manufacturing plant late last week.  Ellicott Town Police accuse 23 year-old Michael Rucker of Salamanca of setting the fires inside TitanX on Allen Street Extension last Friday night... then fleeing the scene.  Officers say they apprehended Rucker a short distance away, and investigated further.  Falconer fire crews were able to douse the flames fairly quickly.  No one was hurt.  Rucker was arraigned in Ellicott Town Court on charges of second-degree arson... and, sent to the Chautauqua County Jail on 40-thousand dollars cash bail. 

 

Democrat Carl Heastie has been re-elected Speaker of the New York state Assembly.  The Bronx lawmaker was re-elected by the Assembly's Democratic majority on Tuesday during a gathering in Albany.  Heastie was first tapped to be speaker last year when he replaced long-time Speaker Sheldon Silver following Silver's arrest on corruption charges.  Silver was later convicted.  Heastie is the first African American to hold the powerful position.  The 2017 legislative session gets underway next month.  Heastie says Democrats will focus on improving education and housing programs, protecting vulnerable populations, defending civil rights and helping working families.  Lawmakers are now in talks about convening a special session this month focused on a possible pay raise for lawmakers, who now make $79-thousand-500 dollars a year.

 

Jamestown Community College Athletic Director Keith Martin will again be holding his annual Community Holiday Haul this Christmas Season to benefit the St. Susan's Center.  Martin tells us he'll be in a tent outside of the Jamestown Cycle Shop a week from beginning on Thursday, December 15th... though that following Saturday... collecting money and non-perishable food.  This is the fourth-year that Martin has conducted the drive. Martin says he pleased that... in the first three years of the fund-raiser... the effort has raised just over 30-thousand dollars, and, generated just over 11-tons of food for St. Susan's.  Soup Kitchen Director Jeff Smith applauded Martin for undertaking the endeavor for another year... and, the local businesses and community members who support it.  Martin says... while there's typically one cold, "tough day" during the three-day event... there are also many other times that make it so worthwhile.  He says he has seen people who were helped by St. Susan's at one time... giving back during the Community Holiday Haul.

 

Gas prices in Chautauqua County are holding steady this week... down about a tenth of a penny.  That from the Triple-A's Fuel Gauge Report... which says the average price for regular, unleaded fuel is 2-dollars-38.8 cents this week.  It was 2-38.9 last week.  Nationally... Triple-A says the average price has increased for seven straight days... reaching today’s price of 2-dollars-18 cents per gallon.  Today’s average price represents an increase of five cents per gallon compared to one week ago... four cents less than one month ago... and, 14 cents more than the same date last year.  The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) elected to cut its collective production when the group met last Wednesday in Vienna, Austria, in an effort to rebalance the global oil supply and raise prices.  Markets reacted quickly to the production agreement with crude oil gaining 12% and leading to increased retail prices.  The deal is set to take effect in January 2017.   

 

A new Siena College survey suggests New Yorkers are evenly divided over Donald Trump and what the Republican president-elect will mean for the state.  The poll released Monday found that 49 percent of respondents are optimistic about the next four years, while 48 percent are pessimistic.  The opinions reflect party lines, with 83 percent of Republicans saying Trump will be good for the state, while 64 percent of Democrats say he will not.  The poll also found that the percentage of New Yorkers giving Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo a favorable rating is unchanged at 56 percent, although Cuomo's job performance is up slightly and more people say they're prepared to re-elect him in 2018.  The November 27th throught-December 1st telephone survey of 807 registered voters has a 3.8 percentage point margin of error.   

 


Water in the Randolph Water District will be turned-off on Upper Larkin Street, Messenger Road and Bowen Road starting at 9 AM TODAY.  Town Clerk Kathy Sickles says the water will be off for about 3 hours while repair work is being done on the systems.