A second Jamestown man accused of shooting a third man in the Tops Market parking lot on Washington Street last year has been sentenced to 8 years in state prison. Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson says 31 year-old Michael Robinson received the sentence Monday morning from County Court Judge Paul Wojtaszek for first-degree assault. Swanson says the other primary suspect... Alexander Jewel... was sentenced earlier this year in the case. The shooting occured at about 6 PM on July 24th of 2015. The motive for the shooting was believed to be drug-related. The victim has since recovered from his serious wound. Robinson will also serve 5-years post-release supervision. In addition... Swanson says a Brocton man convicted of arson... has been sentenced to 4 to 8 years in state prison. He says 33 year-old Daniel Frey received the determinate sentence today in county court. Frey was convicted of third-degree arson.
A member of the Lakeview Avenue neighborhood improvement group is urging the Jamestown City Council to fully consider the ramifications of approving the sale of the Sheldon House. Resident Paul Leone addressed lawmakers at last night's work session about the Zoning Board of Appeals approval of a variance for the Lynn Development Group to allow professional offices in the structure. The property is being sold by Jamestown Community College. But... Leone urged them to remember what the city, and local planners are striving for.
City officials and the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation have been working on a Neighborhood Revitalization Plan that emphasizes primarily, single-family homes. Leone says there has been some success in the Lakeview Avenue area to take homes that were converted to business use -- back to homes. He says they include his own house... which had been the home of Dr. Barone. The Zoning Board approved the variance in a 5-to-1 vote. However... the final sale of the property must be approved by several entities... including the city council -- which is a sponsor of JCC.
The city of Jamestown's latest Parking Ticket Amnesty Program was a success... with just over 35-thousand dollars in parking tickets paid up. That from Mayor Sam Teresi... who told lawmakers at last night's work session that the 30-day program actually closed out on Monday, May 2nd... with receipt of 17-hundred dollars in fines that were paid-up. Teresi says their biggest day was Friday, April 29th... which saw 47-hundred-65 dollars paid.
However... Teresi says that leaves nearly 460-thousand dollars in tickets and fees that have not been paid. He says those scafflaws go back on the books... and, will be aggressively pursued. Teresi says people whose license plates have rung up 200-dollars or more in tickets and fees will be listed in this weekend's Post-Journal... and warrants have been issued for dozens of people who have failed to appear in court in their cases. More on that later today.
A Kennedy man has been arrested for allegedly stalking another man... to the point of chasing him in a vehicle from Falconer to Stockton... and, running several other cars off the road. State Police in Jamestown say they received a 9-1-1 call about the incident shortly before 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon. Troopers say 34 year-old Matthew Haskins is accused of trying to get into a fight with the victim... then chasing him on Route 60 -- through Cassadaga -- to just south of Fredonia. At that point... Haskins was stopped... and, arrested. He was arraigned... and, freed on 3-thousand dollars cash bail.
A north county man is jailed without bail for allegedly stabbing a co-worker with a set of grape shears last weekend in Dunkirk. State Police in Fredonia say the unidentified victim appeared last Saturday at their barracks with an inch-and-a-half wound to his chest. Troopers say the victim identified 31 year-old Rafael Zabala as the suspect. Police went to his home... but, he had fled the scene. He was arrested sometime later. The victim was later taken to a local hospital for treatment. Troopers say Zabala was arraigned on charges of second-degree assault.. and, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was then sent to the County Jail without bail.
A package of bills awaits Congress when lawmakers return to Washington later this week to address the Opiate Drug crisis in the U-S. That from local Representative Tom Reed... who says the measures are part of the Opioid Reduction Act. The Corning Republican says the measure will ensure that all bills dealing with the epidemic have "priority" rating for lawmakers. Reed says Congress wants to provide the necessary money to provide more In-Patient Treatment for Heroin -- or other opiate addiction -- but, wants to make it goes to the right place. Reed says there also needs to be money spent on prevention... and, other education. He says Heroin addiction has become a huge issue in his district... which includes Jamestown. Reed adds this is one issue where he believes Democrats and Republicans will come together and stand united against this "terrible drug." He says nearly 44 people -- on average -- die each day from prescription painkiller overdoses in the U-S. Reed made his comments for his weekly telephone news conference with Southern Tier Media.
An Iraqi War veteran from the area who was part of the U-S Marine Corps' first official mortuary affairs unit will deliver the commencement address at Jamestown Community College later this month. Jessica Goodell, who is the daughter of state Assemblyman Andy Goodell, will deliver the 2016 commencement address at JCC’s Cattaraugus County Campus on May 20th... and, at the Jamestown Campus on May 21st. JCC Vice-President of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications Kirk Young says the choice of a speaker begins with the JCC Alumni Association. Young says Goodell is a 2007 graduate of JCC... where she completed her Associate's Degree in social sciences in just two semesters. Following her service in the Mortuary Affairs Unit... she work about her work in the book, "Shade it Black..." just a few years ago. Jessica Goodell was one of two women in the unit... where she rose to the rank of Lance Corporal. Commencement at the Jamestown campus will be held on Saturday, May 21st, at the JCC Physical Education Complex.
New York labor officials say more than 10-million dollars in stolen wages have been returned to more than 17,000 victims in the first three months of the year. The quarterly total exceeds $9 million in the same period last year, when the state returned $31.5 million overall. According to state officials... common methods of wage theft include paying tips only, paying day rates below the minimum wage, not paying overtime, withholding final paychecks, not paying for training time and charging workers for required uniforms or equipment. The quarterly report shows $7.4 million returned to 11-thousand-318 workers in New York City and nearly $1.4 million returned to 1,434 workers on Long Island.
A woman believed to be Pennsylvania's oldest resident has died at the age of 113. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Irene Ciuffoletti died Saturday at the St. Anne Home in Greensburg. She was born on Januar 19th of 1903 in Santa Arsenio, Italy and emigrated to New Kensington, Pennsylvania in 1912. She married in 1922 and never re-married after her husband, Emilio, died in 1957 at age 66. She's been was preceded in death by four sons and is survived by one, Julius, who lives in Arnold, Pennsylvania. She's also survived by 11 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren and 6 great-great grandchildren. The Gerontology Research Group, which tracks people older than 110 worldwide, says she was Pennsylvania's oldest resident. Her funeral is Tuesday at Mount St. Peter Parish in New Kensington.
A former long-time local union leader and retired teacher died unexpectedly over the weekend. We have learned that Joseph Sweeny, who served as the President of the Dunkirk Teachers Association for a number of years, passed away Sunday morning at Buffalo General Hospital following a brief illness. He was 68. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time.
