Two people had to be taken to the hospital after a car struck a scooter from behind in the town of Clymer last Saturday night. Sheriff's officers say they, along with Clymer and Sherman fire crews, were called to the scene at 80-75 Ravlin Hill Road shortly before 6 PM. Deputies say that 31 year-old Justin Teeds of Panama was traveling eastbound in his vehicle when it struck 19 year-old James Troyer's scooter. Officers say Troyer, who's from Clymer, was taken to UPMC Hamot Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries... while Teed was taken to UPMC Chautauqua Hospital in Jamestown for treatment of minor injuries. No charges have been announced.
The Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office is investigating an all terrain vehicle accident, in which a 63 year-old male was killed early last Saturday. Deputies say the man and his 43 year-old son were operating the ATV on their property at 53-01 Miller Hill Road in the Town of Ischua when the accident occurred. Police say it appears the driver was unable to negotiate the hill in the woods on a steep trail and the four-wheeler flipped backwards. The son was airlifted to the Erie County Medical Center for his injuries. Deputies say the father was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges have been filed at this time.
There are 47 new cases of the COVID-19 Virus being reported in Chautauqua County from the past weekend... putting the county near 1,500 during the pandemic. The county's Health Department reports that 21 new cases were reported on Sunday... and, there were 26 on Saturday. That brings the overall total to 1,492 confirmed cases. The county will release more details later today.
The Jamestown City Council will hold one more budget session tonight before it votes on a nearly $35-million budget for 2021 next week. At the end of last week's lengthy work session at City Hall... Council President Tony Dolce said the panel will meet tonight at 7 PM to address issues surrounding Mayor Eddie Sundquist's proposal to put more than 300 city retirees into a new Medicare supplimental insurance plan for next year. Dolce says they need to make sure the city can make that change legally, and that the budget is "sound and balanced."
In his tentative budget plan... Sundquist projected a savings of $1.1-million that would help provide a 17-cent per thousand tax rate decrease. Dolce says it's also important for lawmakers to remember the city is at it's constitutional taxing limit.
Dolce told council members to make sure to "ask your thousand questions" of those who put the spending plan together, and bring feed back to the meeting. Again... the budget session begins at 7 PM tonight at City Hall. As per Governor Cuomo's executive order... the public cannot attend. However... the session will be lived streamed on the city's website.
The latest COVID-19 rapid testing clinic set for next Tuesday, November 24th from 9 AM to 2 PM is already full. That from Public Health Director Christine Schuyler... who said Sunday that all the appointments that day are completely booked. The announcement was made early last weekend... so it filled up fast. Schuyler says they are now working on holding another free clinic on Monday, November 30th. More informatin will be forthcoming.
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In addition... Schuyler says the Health Department has received reports from the state Health Department on the county's disease investigation and contact tracing efforts for the months of September and October. She says Chautauqua County is doing better than both Western New York and New York State comparisons. Schuyler says her staff "is truly the frontline unsung heroes of this pandemic. It has been all hands on deck every single day since early March. The dedication and hard work of everyone from nurses to clerks and everyone in between is nothing short of absolutely amazing.” During those two months... Schuyler says the department's COVID-19 response team successfully reached 99.5-percent of the 663 positive cases, and completed interviews with 94.1-percent of the cases... and, most were completed within 24 hours.
The SUNY College at Fredonia's new president has been on the job for about three months, and is proud about how the campus has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Stephen Kolison says the campus has made it through the fall semester without closing. The semester came to an end on Friday. Kolison says students will be given COVID tests before they leave campus for the holitay break... and, he adds they have to get tested before they return to campus. He adds plans are to also have a longer winter break... with the spring semester not starting until February.
A Dunkirk man has been arrested for allegedly trafficking drugs in the north county area. Sheriff's officers say they took 24 year-old Irvin Reyes-Pacheco of West Second Street into custody on a County Court Arrest Warrant on two counts of Felony criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was arrested without incident by a deputy and Fredonia Police officers without on Temple Road in Fredonia about 1:30 PM last Wednesday. Reyes-Pacheco’s arrest was the result of an investigation by detectives, and investigators from the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force. He was taken to the County Jail where he was held until he could be arraigned in Chautauqua County Court on November 19th... and, he was released with appearance tickets.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is set to soon receive an International Emmy award for his once-daily televised briefings on the coronavirus pandemic that killed tens of thousands of New Yorkers this spring. The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced late Friday it plans to present the award to the governor in a live-streamed show today. International Academy President & Chief Executive Officer Bruce Paisner said Cuomo is being honored with the academy's Founders Award for using his briefings to inform and calm the public. Previous recipients include former Vice President Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, and director Steven Spielberg.
