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WJTN News Headlines for Feb. 20, 2018

The eight latest additions to the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame were officially inducted in front of a sell-out crowd during last night's induction dinner in Lakewood...  
 
During the annual event at the Lakewood Rod and Gun Club, the past met the present.  Former Maple Grove head football and basketball coach Curt Fischer was among the inductees and called it an "overwhelming" experience.
 
Fischer coached the Red Dragons football team to two state championships and almost a third this past season.  He also led the boy's basketball team to two state titles.  Dunkirk's Clem Worosz was an all-around sports stand-out at St. Mary's and Cardinal Minszenty High Schools in the 1950s, went on to play college basketball at Niagara, where he played with legendary NBA Coach Larry Costello, and, Hubie Brown.  Other inductees included two softball stand-outs: Southwestern graduate Sheila Lingenfelter-Gulas and Falconer graduate Lori Franchina.  Long-time Post-Journal Sports Editor Jim Riggs, III was also honored postumously during the dinner.
 
 
A major warm up is underway, with a southwesterly flow of warm air moving into the western New York region...  
 
Highs got to near 50 late Monday and, the mercury could hit 70 in some places away from the lakes today.  That from Forecaster Aaron Reynolds with the National Weather Service in Buffalo, who says we'll see warmer and wetter conditions.
 
Reynolds says-- in fact-- we may see a new record high temperature recorded today.  However, he says that's up in the air because temperatures will be in the upper sixties near Lake Erie.  The record for today is 64 degrees.  Looking ahead, Reynolds says we'll cool down a bit for the second-half of the week.  However, he says it's going to be fairly warm for a while after a dip in the temperature on Wednesday and Thursday.  He adds temperatures will climb again by the weekend and, there's no real cold air predicted in the region through the end of the month.  Reynolds says the rain should not produce any major problems locally because the snow-pack is pretty much gone.
 
 
The presence of an ice castle helped draw huge crowds to Mayville for last weekend's annual President's Day Weekend Winter Festival...  
 
However, the castle almost didn't happen.  Early last Friday morning, Scott Dearing-- a long time volunteer on the building crew-- saw what the rain and warm temperatures had done.
 
Local Restaurant Owner Nick Andriaccio returned as 'crew chief' for this year's castle construction and says they had to work fast through the day Friday to keep the castle solid using a method called "slushing."  A group of students from the BOCES Conservation Club was responsible for 'slushing' the construction this year, helping to keep the ice blocks together.  Andriaccio says they used a snowblower to pack snow against the bottom part of the ice castle.  The technique was successful, and may be used in again in future years when warm conditions threaten the castle.  
 
 
A firefighter with the city of Jamestown is jailed without bail for allegedly brandishing a hand-gun during a domestic violence incident on the city's eastside last weekend...  
 
Jamestown police were called to the scene at 23 Alfred Street about 10 p.m. last Saturday for an incident involving a gun.  Officers say they spoke with the victim at a neighbor's house after she ran there for help.  Police learned the woman's boyfriend, 35 year-old Ryan DiDomenico, had gotten into a fight with her and at one point, held her down on the floor against her will.  DiDomenico is also accused of pulling a hand-gun during that time.  The victim tells police she tried to call 911, but he grabbed the phone away.  DiDomenico was arraigned on charges including second-degree menacing, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and reckless endangerment and sent to the county lock-up.
 
 
A city man is accused of resisting arrest and attempting to flee during a traffic stop early Monday morning on Jamestown's northside...  
 
City police say they stopped a vehicle near Lakeview Avenue and Bassett Street shortly before 1:30 a.m. for a traffic violation. Further investigation found that a passenger, 31 year-old Jermaine Gordon had a confirmed parole violation warrant.  When officers went to arrest Gordon, he began to actively resist officers and tried to run off.  But, after a short skirmish, officers were able to place Gordon in custody and take him to city jail without further incident.  He was also found to be in possession of a large quantity of marijuana and a digital scale.  Gordon faces several charges, including resisting arrest, second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia, fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana and second-degree obstruction.  He's jailed pending arraignment.
 
 
While Part-One crimes are down significantly in the city of Jamestown from 2016 to 2017, they don't tell the entire story...  
 
That from City Police Chief Harry Snellings, who recently provided more information on crimes in the city so City Council members will have the "full picture" of crime fighting.  Snellings says part of the problem in the city is repeat offenders, noting that a dozen people were responsible for a large number of criminal offenses.
 
Snellings also provided major crime statistics for nine parts of the city, and says they included serious crimes -- such as shootings.  He says these were based on the city's Gun-Involved Violence Enforcement (GIVE) Program.  He says there were eight shootings for 2017.  He says the city has two officers for every one-thousand residents and, says that's about where it should be, according to FBI crime reports.  For communities of Jamestown's size, he says they should have 1.7 officers for every one-thousand residents.  Snellings adds they have 14 officers during each platoon.
 
 
Local town officials from all across New York state are in Manhattan for meetings that will feature discussions with some of the state's top elected officials...  
 
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman were among the featured speakers during Monday morning's general session of the Association of Towns 2018 annual meeting.  Today, fellow Democrat Chuck Schumer, the U.S. Senate minority leader, will address the gathering.