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WJTN News Headlines for Feb. 12, 2018

An Ashville woman is accused of drunk driving after she was involved in a one-car crash on Route 380 in the town of Stockton late last Saturday night...  

 
Sheriff's officers say they were called to the scene just after 11:30 p.m. and identified the driver as 21 year-old Taren Grover.  Following a short investigation, deputies say they found Grover was operating her vehicle in an intoxicated state.  Officers say Grover was taken into custody, and later released on appearance tickets for DWI, Aggravated DWI and, moving from lane Unsafely.  She will appear in the Town of Stockton Court at a later date.
 
 
 
Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace says he is "extremely disappointed" with last week's verdict in the Justin Haffa trial...  
 
The 22-year-old man from Cheektowaga was found not guilty in an indictment on three counts, including attempted murder, in connection with an incident in which he allegedly attacked a sheriff's deputy in the Town of Pomfret in September 2016.  Gerace says although there is no such thing as a "perfect case," he feels that because of television, juries often expect to have a perfect case presented. Haffa was found guilty on a lesser count of third-degree robbery.  Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson told us that he felt a lack of evidence led to the not guilty verdict.
 
 
 
The first meeting of an arbitration panel set for later this morning to begin work on breaking the current impasse between the city of Jamestown and it's policemen's union has been called off...  
 
In an e-mail yesterday, Mayoral Assistant Matt Hanley said the arbitration hearing has been called off "indefinintely."  No reason was given.  Mayor Sam Teresi told the city council it's past two meetings that representation had been selected for the Kendall Club-Police Benevolent Association, and the city.  The Kendall Club PBA's most recent contract with the city expired on December 31 of 2015; it filed paperwork for arbitration last year. 
 
 
 
The Chautauqua County Sheriff's officer who gained widespread praise for helping save the life of another man in 2013 has passed away following a brief battle with Leukemia...  
 
The Post-Journal reports that 44 year-old Michael Seeley of West Ellicott, who had been a Sheriff's deputy, firefighter and dispatcher, died last Friday night at the Cleveland Clinic.  The paper says Seeley was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia last August.  He underwent a bone marrow transplant in November after his sister, Jennifer Scolton, was found to be a match.  However, the transplant didn't take hold, and he was readmitted to Cleveland Clinic last month.
 
 
 
Governor Andrew Cuomo's top budget official says the Democrat wants to separate the state's tax rates from the federal rates to keep New Yorkers from a $1.5-billion income tax increase...  
 
Budget Director Robert Mujica told lawmakers during Thursday's joint Senate and Assembly budget hearing on taxes that Cuomo plans to detail the proposal in an amendment to the spending plan he released last month.  Mujica testified that Cuomo's move would decouple the state tax code from the federal government's to restore deductibility many New Yorkers stand to lose under the new federal tax overhaul.  The Republican-controlled Senate passed a similar plan last month.  During the four hour hearing lawmakers also questioned state officials about new taxes and fees included in Cuomo's $168-billion budget proposal.
 
 
 
While at the Boy's and Girl's Club on Friday, State Senator Cathy Young said the Senate had taken steps to blunt some of the negative effects of the federal tax changes on New Yorkers...
 
Young, who is chair of the Finance Committee,  says the Senate action addresses one of the issues regarding deductions. She says example, if standard deduction--on a federal level-- makes sense for you, you can still now take state deductions on property taxes, childcare deductions and others. Young expects the governor to include these changes in his '30 day budget amendments'.  Otherwise, the senator says the budget process has been relatively routine, so far.  She reiterated the Senate's view that the deficit in budget due April 1st is around $1.7-billion, not $4.4 billion, as the governor has claimed.  
 
 
 
The investigation is continuing into the fire that heavily-damaged the back portion of a single-family home on Jamestown's eastside early last weekend...  
 
City Fire Battalion Chief Matt Coon says crews were called to the scene at 31 Flagg Avenue shortly after 3 p.m. Friday and adds they were able to get water on the blaze pretty quickly.
 
Coon says it took about 15 minutes to knock down the blaze and fire damage was confined to the back of the structure.  He says there was noderate damage elsewhere. Coon says the family was not home at the time, but says the fire sent two cats, and a dog scurrying.  He says the cats were found okay, but the puppy got loose outside, and the family is still looking for him.  Coon says the family is being helped by relatives as they secure the house.  He says no injuries were reported.  Coon says an off-duty shift of 12 firefighters was called in to assist at the scene.
 
 
 
Republican state lawmaker Brian Kolb has dropped out of the race for New York governor...  
 
The Assembly Minority Leader said Friday that he decided he doesn't want to sacrifice time with his family in order to mount a long campaign.  His decision leaves two Republicans in the race: state Sen. John DeFrancisco, of Syracuse, and former Erie County Executive Joel Giambra.  Kolb has been GOP Minority Leaders the past several years.  He is a resident of the city of Canandaigua in the Finger Lakes.  Early in his campaign Kolb acknowledged the challenges of defeating Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is seeking a third term in the November election.  Democrats have a 2-1 advantage in party registration in New York. 
 
 
 
If you see a giant fish with a snout like a canoe paddle, New York state wildlife officials want to know...  
 
The Department of Environmental Conservation is asking anglers and outdoor enthusiasts to report paddlefish sightings. The primitive fish, related to sturgeon, can get up to 6 feet long or more.  Native to southwestern New York, paddlefish disappeared from the state over a century ago due to dams and pollution.  They're now protected.  The state started stocking them in 1998 in the Allegheny Reservoir, Chautauqua Lake and the Conewango Creek.  Two have been caught in the Jamestown area in the last two years.