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WJTN News Headlines for Mar. 23, 2018

Congress has easily approved a bi-partisan $1.3-trillion measure handing huge spending increases to defense programs and domestic initiatives ranging from road-building to biomedical research...  
 
However, Chautauqua County's representative in the House voted against the latest continuing resolution in Washington.  Corning Republican Tom Reed's office says he voted against the measure, which was approved early Thursday afternoon, 256-167.  That shipped the more than 2,200-page package to the Senate, where it passed earlier this morning 65-32.
 
 
The Jamestown Public Works Department will begin work on the reconstruction of West 4th Street -- between Washington and Lafayette Streets -- next Monday morning...  
 
DPW Director Jeff Lehman says they'll be closing that one-block area to local traffic until the project is completed.  City Council this week approved a resolution to allow Mayor Sam Teresi to enter into an agreement with R. Patti Construction to head up the project for $167,000.  Teresi says they were just waiting for warmer weather to get here.
 
Teresi says the project on West 4th will be the first of 90 to 100 projects taken up by the DPW this Spring and Summer.  He says they are projects that are "above and beyond" the routine maintenance work the city does on potholes and other smaller projects.  R. Patti Construction submitted the lowest of three bigs for the project, which will involve tearing out the asphalt pavement, bricks, and concrete base surface.  Teresi says most of the problem on West 4th involves the concrete breaking up, and pushing the bricks and pavement up, creating major potholes. 
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The Jamestown City Council this week also approved a resolution to lift the hiring freeze so the Police Department can hire a new full-time officer to replace on that has retired.  Lawmakers say the retirement was planned for this year, and funding for the new hire is in the 2018 budget.  The hiring will bring the department to a full compliment of 62.
 
 
Lakewood Mayor Cara Birrittieri has released her proposed 2018-19 budget, which includes a 7.7% tax rate increase...  
 
Birritieri released the spending plan late Thursday and says rising health care costs remains the main reason why the rate is increasing by $0.57 per thousand of assessed value from $7.34 to $7.91.  She says her tentative budget shows it's going to be a very "challenging fiscal year for the village."  She says another issue in recent years is a drop in assessments, while the village has had to deal with increasing costs.  The tentative spending plan totals just over $3.7-million.  The village board must adopt a budget prior to May 1.
 
 
Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to reform the system of cash bail in New York, but some say his reforms don't go far enough...
 
Sixty-three percent of prisoners held in jails around New York State have not been convicted of a crime but can't afford the bail to secure their release.  The governor wants to end the current cash bail system for those charged with misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies.  But critics of the proposal say his plan would force those charged with a crime to pay for electronic monitoring and other services while awaiting trial.  Kesi Foster, with Make the Road New York, says that approach is fundamentally flawed.
 
Supporters of electronic monitoring note that nationally, one-third of defendants released while awaiting trial don't comply with discharge requirements, including court appearances.  While the governor's proposal would reduce the number of people in pretrial detention, Foster believes that by including required payment for monitoring services and expanding offenses with no pretrial release, the reforms would fall short of the desired goal.  The governor's bill is included in the state budget proposals.
 
 
Several police agencies raided a home in the Cattaraugus County city of Olean Wednesday night to arrest a woman accused of trafficking three kinds of illegal drugs...  
 
Agents with the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force joined with Olean Police and the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Special Response Team to execute a search warrant at 210-1/2 West Green Street shortly before 9:00.  Task Force members say they arrested 21 year-old Kasia Lewis and seized about 11-grams of crack cocaine, eight-grams of Heroin and six morphine pills.  Lewis is awaiting arraignment today in Olean City Court on one count of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia.  The Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office K-9 Unit also assisted with the arrest.
 
 
Officials in the Silver Creek Central School district say they're elated with the results of this week's vote on a $17.6 million capital improvement project.  Voters approved the project on Tuesday, 287-85.  That was much to the delight of Superintendent Todd Crandall...
 
Crandall says the project will address a number of items including an expanded security and new communications system, transportation facility addition and a number of maintenance items including roofing.  He says a six-classroom addition at the elementary school is also part of the project because they have a "diversified" student population to provide more teaching space, and support services.  Crandall expects plans to be submitted soon to the State Department of Education.  If all goes well, construction could start by the summer of 2019.
 
 
The annual Grow Jamestown gardening and home improvement show will take place at the Northwest Arena this coming Saturday...  
 
Marketing and Events Manager Zach Agett from Jamestown Renaissance Corporation says this year's show features 52 vendors including presenting sponsor Mike's Nursery.  Additionally, the show will also include workshops periodically throughout the day starting at 10:30.  JRC's Neighborhood Project Manager Mary Maxwell says the workshops will dive into backyard wildlife, butterfly gardens for kids, composting and others. For more information,  visit JamestownRenaissance.org.  Grow Jamestown is a free event running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m..