Several people had to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning after a C-O leak developed in their apartment house yesterday afternoon across the street from Jamestown City Hall. City fire officials say rescue crews were called to the scene at 228-to-230 East Second Street about 3:30 PM. Officials say four people were transported to WCA Hospital... while several others were taken there by private vehicle. Battalion Chief Don Woodfield says some 6 to 8 families lived in the building... which has been condemned until the cause of the leak has been determined, and repaired. A nursing supervisor at the hospital says some people were still being treated last night... but, no one had been admitted. None of the people involved appeared to be in a life-threatening situation. The local Red Cross is helping the families.
Some 25 people were on hand for a first-ever public forum to work on budget priorities for the Jamestown School District in the 2014-2015 school year. However... while it was a small gathering... several "very thoughtful" ideas and suggestions were offered before school officials begin work on the spending plan. That from School Board President Joe DiMaio... who says they got a lot of good input during last night's two-hour session at the school Administration Building. Some of the ideas involved expanding some current programs... and, keeping class sizes down in lower grade levels. There were also ideas to generate revenue... such as providing distance learning for certain subjects that can't be offered in smaller, neighboring districts. Another... which DiMaio felt was a "great idea..." was creation of a Jamestown Education Foundation. He says it's not a new idea... and, might be similar to what Southwestern did several years ago. The four areas the residents and school officials looked at were instructional programs... extra-curricular activities... facilities, operations and management... and, transportation. School Superintendent Tim Mains says the final results will be compiled into a final report... and, put onto the district's website.
Lakewood village officials are offering the town of Busti office space -- if and when the town decides to sell the current office building in the village. The village board Monday night approved a resolution making the offer -- either temporarily or permanently. Mayor David Wordelmann says they understand the town has received an offer from a financial institution to buy it's current location on Chautauqua Avenue. He adds it would be in both muncipality's best interest to do that because it was previously a bank... and, would create more foot traffic in the village's "downtown" area. The Town Board will hold a public hearing tonight on the proposal to sell the current office... and, buy the current Tordella building -- a former Quality Markets store -- next door. However... that building would require some renovation work before the offices could be moved into that space. Wordelmann says that's why they made the offer they did. He adds the two governments have worked out similar consolidations in the past. The public hearing on the Busti proposal begins at 6:45 TONIGHT.
The head of the local Premier tool and die plant in Lakewood confirms that they've filed a notice of closure for early next May. Plant Manager Ron Saxton also tells Media One News the reason for the pending closure -- which would leave 75 people out of work -- is economic conditions. Otherwise... Saxton deferred all comment to Premier's headquarters in Michigan. The state Labor Department sent out a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification late last week that Premier-Lakewood would be closing it's doors on May 6th. The WARN notice stated the lay-offs would begin at the Winchester Road-facility on May 1st. The Premier location first opened at Falconer Metal Specialties in 1963. It became Lexington Die-Cast in 2005 when it was purchased by Premier. Efforts to reach Michigan officials for comment so far have been unsuccessful.
Unless they get a shipment soon... the city of Jamestown only has enough road salt to make it through the end of this week. That from Public Works Director Jeff Lehman... who says his crews have gone through a lot of salt already this Winter... and, it's forced them to resort to using sand at times. Lehman says he's also looking at brine to help bridge the gaps. Lehman says part of the problem is the state contracted with a new salt vendor this year... and, the past two Winters were mild. Lehman said both Monday night and yesterday that they were still waiting on their next shipment from the state's Canadian contractor. He says their orders are in... but, there's been an issue getting salt in different parts of the state. Lehman says the city has remainded within it's salt budget for this year... but, he adds they're not done when the weather breaks this Spring. Lehman says -- given that -- they're hoping for a mild start to next Winter. He says when they buy their salt allocation for the year... they are allowed a 20-percent overage.
The winter that just won't take a break is causing shortages of road salt in a number of parts of the state. However... most other local communities seem to be in good shape. Lakewood Mayor David Wordelmann says he's spoken with his Highway Supervisor... who tells him they're in pretty decent shape. Wordelmann says they'd just like a break in the weather. Fredonia Mayor Steve Keefe says the village has enough salt at this point, but if could be a different story if the snow and cold drags on too long. Keefe says they did have some surplus left from last year... and, that's helped them out so far this year. He is reminding local plow operators to be careful where they are plowing... and, they should never leave snow in the middle of the street since it can create a traffic hazard. He is also encouraging local residents to give them a helping hand with shoveling the walk-ways to and from their homes and businesses.
