The Sherman man accused of hunting after dark when he accidently shot and killed a neighbor while she was talking her dogs last November has pleaded guilty in the case...
Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson says 33 year-old Thomas Jadlowski pled guilty in county court to one count each of criminally negligent homicide, and hunting after hours in connection with the death of 43 year-old Rosemary Billquist. Swanson says this ends a "very difficult" chapter in the lives of two families.
Jamie is Rosemary Billquist's husband, who Swanson says has been involved in the case from day one. He says Jamie Billquist agreed to changing an original charge of second-degree manslaughter to criminally negligent homicide. Swanson says the latter charge is an E-Felony that included what the Billquist family was looking for. Jadlowski told investigators that he mistook Mrs. Billquist for a deer, and fired one round, and it struck her in the hip. She later died at UPMC Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania. Jadlowski will be sentenced next January 14.
The late Rosemary Billquist's husband says this has "never been about vengeance..." and, voiced his support for the plea agreement reached today in her death...
At the same time, Jamie Billquist did push for prison time because he felt a message needed to be sent to hunters that they have "expansive responsibilities" when they hunt. Patrick Swanson adds that Billquist also wants hunters to think twice about hunting after dark. Swanson says -- from the beginning -- Jamie Billquist wanted the defendant to take responsibility and be held accountable.
A man from the city of Olean was arrested following a drug raid at his apartment on Tuesday evening...
Agents with the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force say they executed a search warrant at 633 Garden Avenue about 9:30 p.m. and, discovered more than a half-an-ounce of crack-coaine -- having a street value of nearly $2,900; four-grams of marijuana; along with scales and packaging materials. Officers arrested 42 year-old Shariff James at the scene. He was arraigned on charges of Felony third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, and misdemeanor criminal use of drug paraphernalia. Task Force members were assisted by Olean Police, Sheriff's deputies, State Police and, the Sheriff's K-9 Unit.
The Democratic candidate for the 23rd Congressional District says she would vote in favor of the new U-S, Mexico and Canada trade agreement...
However, Penn Yan's Tracy Mitrano says it's not the big "paradigm shift that President Donald Trump proclaims it to be. Mitrano says the USMCA is a good first step. The USMCA stipulates that 75-percent of a car must be produced by the three member nations for it to pass through the countries duty-free. In addition, it states 40-percent of each car must be produced by workers making $16/hr or more to avoid duties. Mitrano says the deal helps expand markets for agricultural products in Canada. However, she says it favors big and corporate farms over smaller, family farms. President Trump tweeted out his thanks late Wedneday for Incumbant Republican Tom Reed's support of the trade deal.
Local Congressman Tom Reed made a stop in the city of Dunkirk yesterday, where he toured the P-Tech Academy...
The Corning Republican says manufacturing is in demand for skilled workers, and he believes the program can play a major role in developing a skilled workforce. He says there are two main reasons for his visit-- re-affirming support for P-Tech Programming and to "be a loud voice for this great opportunity."
County Executive George Borrello and Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES Superintendent David O'Rourke were among those who joined Reed for the tour. O'Rourke says this is the fourth year the program. He says students enter the program in the eighth grade and wind up with a college degree. O'Rourke says the program is in it's fourth-year now. Reed and Borrello spoke with the students and staff during Thursday's tour. The Dunkirk campus, which opened in March, is one of 32 across the state.
Pennsylvania state lawmakers have passed the first anti-violence legislation in years that deals directly with firearms...
A measure to force people in the gun-friendly state with a domestic violence ruling against them to more quickly surrender their guns cleared its last hurdle Wednesday before it can get Democratic Governor Tom Wolf's signature. The Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill 43-5, and Wolf plans to sign it. Domestic violence- and gun violence-prevention groups support the bill and have worked for its passage for years. It picked up speed in March after the Florida high school shooting that killed 17 people, and the National Rifle Association negotiated changes that dropped its opposition. Under the bill, people convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence or subject to final restraining orders must surrender their guns within 24 hours.
President Donald Trump is making another visit to Pennsylvania, this time To Erie where one of his staunch supporters in Congress is facing his toughest re-election battle yet...
Trump's campaign said late Wednesday that the president will hold a rally at Erie Insurance Arena on October 10. Four-term Congressmen Mike Kelly and Lou Barletta are expected to attend, and Trump will headline a fundraiser for the men while there. Kelly is facing a challenge from Democrat Ron DiNicola while Barletta is mounting an uphill campaign to unseat two-term Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey. Trump was in Philadelphia earlier this week, at the Flight 93 memorial in southwestern Pennsylvania on September 11, and in Wilkes-Barre in early August for a rally with Barletta.
New York officials are enacting a quarantine on movement into the state of landscaping debris and other items from four states impacted by a new invasive insect called the spotted lanternfly....
The quarantine restricts movement of certain goods into New York from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia. Items affected include yard waste, firewood, wooden crates, nursery stock, fruit and produce. Also included are outdoor articles such as lawn tractors, grills, tarps and vehicles stored outdoors. People transporting any of the listed items will need documentation of the origin and destination of shipments. The state Department of Agriculture will have compliance checks around the state. People who visit the infested states are urged to inspect their vehicle for lanternfly egg masses and scrape them off before leaving.
