A 15 year-old student at Jamestown High School faces drug possession charges after he was allegedly found in possession of three bags of Heroin and a quantity of marijuana. City Police Captain Bob Samuelson says the JHS School Resource Officer was approached by the teen shortly after school opened at 8:05 AM Thursday on an unrelated matter. However... Samuelson says the SRO smelled a strong odor of marijuana on the student... and, pulled him aside. It's the first time since the current Heroin epidemic started three years ago that a student at JHS has been found with the narcotic drug. Samuelson says the student is being charged as a juvenile... and, the case will be petitioned to Family Court. He says it's not known yet if the student was a drug user... or looking to sell them. However... he says they have no information at this point to suggest he was a "dealer." Anyone with information on this case... or others involving illegal drugs... is asked to call the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force Tip-Line at 483-TIPS... that's 483-8477. Samuelson says all calls will be kept confidential.
Regarding the removal of the drug contraband at the High School Thursday morning... Jamestown School Superintendent Tim Mains says the student will also face disciplinary action from the district. In a printed statement... Mains says "we do not tolerate the presence of dangerous contraband in our schools." He added that they will "not allow any individual to place our students in danger." He praised SRO Melody Peach... and other officials for the quick actions.
The 15 most recent graduates of the city of Jamestown's Drug Court were honored with a ceremony this week in the courtroom. Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi was among those on hand for the event... which also commemorated the 15th year of the drug court's existance. Teresi says while the City Police Department has done a great job getting drug dealers off the streets... they've also had to try to deal with stemming the demand... and, getting treatment for those who are addicted to drugs. Teresi says 163 people have now graduated through Drug Court... and, most have gone on to lead good, productive lives. He says a number of agencies have been involved in the effort... including the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County... The Resource Center... and, WCA Hospital. Teresi says he was first approached about the concept by City Court Judge John LaMancuso in 2000 after he had only been in office for two weeks. He says he thought it was a "terrific idea" then.. and, still does. Teresi made his comments for this week's "Community Spotlight" program.
New York state's highest court says the 2009 revisions in the tough Rockefeller-era drug laws also apply to parolees, who can seek shorter sentences. The Court of Appeals... divided 5-to-2... has upheld lower court rulings that Jarrod Brown was eligible for resentencing. Prosecutors argued that the amendments to the sentencing laws applied only to people in prison. The law applied to those convicted of a Class B felony and in the custody of state correctional services. The court majority says state custody includes parole. Brown was originally sentenced in 2002 to a sentence of six to 12 years in prison and three years' post-release supervision for selling cocaine. His sentence was reduced in 2012 to a seven-year prison term and three years supervision. That set him free from both.
Three people have been arrested for an allegedly robbery in Venango County, Pennsylvania... and, then trying to flee police in the Warren County boro of Youngsville. Media One's Ron Smith reports that police learned the trio -- two men and a woman -- were driving through Youngsville shortly before 10:30 AM Thursday. He says police were initially able to capture one man... and, were trying to find the other man and woman off of Route 6. The woman was first spotted by a State Police helicopter that was already in the air. Warren County Sheriff's officers and Youngsville Police assisted at the scene... not far from Youngsville Elementary School. However... police say the school was never threatened. After about 20 minutes... police searching the area brought out a woman in handcuffs from a wooded area. Ron Smith says the woman surrendered... and, a short time later... the second man was arrested. State Police in Warren are heading up the investigation.
It appears that the frost that hit parts of Western New York yesterday morning won't have a major impact on the local grape crop. That from Luke Haggerty, a Viticulture Extension Specialist with the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program in the town of Portland. Haggerty says he's checked local weather monitoring stations... and, it appears the frost was not a major problem. Haggerty says there may some isolated locations where it may have reached the freezing mark, but he believes any damage would be minimal. Meanwhile... local growers are still assessing the damage from the brutal winter. Haggarty says early indications are that damage was not widespread. He says they cut about 15-thousand buds... and, found some damage across the region. However... Haggerty says it was not prevalent. He says they have been in touch with state and federal representatives who are monitoring the situation... including Congressman Tom Reed. Haggerty says there may also be some assistance in the federal Farm Bill that was passed by Congress last year.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has extended the state's ban on residential brush burning until May 21st due to dry conditions across the state that have heightened the risk of wildfires. The burn ban also prohibits outdoor fires such as campfires and recreational fires, and open fires used for cooking. The eastern, central, southern and far northern regions of the state are rated as having a high risk of fire. The Southern Tier, Lake Ontario, and Adirondack regions are rated as having a moderate fire danger. This year, 110 wildfires have burned nearly 3,600 acres.
One of the seven people killed in the Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia was a former teacher in the Rochester public school system who received a master's degree in education from a college in the upstate city. WHEC-TV in Rochester reports that Derrick Griffith taught at the city's Wilson Magnet High School in the late 1990s. Officials at the University of Rochester tell WXXI Radio that he received his masters in 1995 from the college's Warner School of Education in Teaching and Curriculum. Griffith was living in Brooklyn where he served as dean of student affairs and enrollment management at Medgar Evers College. In 2003... Griffith founded the City University of New York Preparatory Transitional High School.
