**Sorry, due to tech issue, these were not put in Wed, our apologies...

 

County DOH reports 544 New COVID cases through Christmas Day, and 14 new deaths...
The number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Chautauqua County continued their downward trend this past week... but, it's still high and there's little change in the number of new deaths and hospitalizations.  The county's Health Department reported Tuesday there were 544 new cases through Christmas Day... with 131 of those in the Jamestown 14701 zip code.  However... there were 14 new deaths.  That brings that total to 271... and, there are now 39 people hospitalized.  There have now been 18,428 total cases... and, 17,687 have recovered.  There are currently 470 active cases in the county... and, the seven-day infection rate is now 9.5-percent.

BPU transformer failure in West Ellicott leads to nearly 500 power outages... 
Electric power was cut last night for about two-hours to Board of Public Utilities customers in part of West Ellicott last night when a pole transformer failed.  BPU Spokeswoman Becky Robbins says power was cut just after 9:30 p.m. when a fuse cut-out failed, causing a pole-mount transformer to fail in front of Dunn Tire at the Fairmount Plaza.  Robbins says BPU employees restored power within approximately two hours.  The outage affected about 466 electric customers in the area.

Sundquist reiterates disappointment that more ARPA projects have not been approved yet...
Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist says he's happy to finally see some projects in his Master Plan for American Rescue Plan Act funding moving forward.  However... as the year ends... Sundquist adds he's still disappointed that more projects haven't been adopted by lawmakers.  He says he's pleased to see the overall plan with five catagories adopted... but, adds lawmakers have had that in their hands since last June.  Sundquist says he's "very disheartend" that of the $3.5-million in projects he says are ready to go, only $437,000 has been allocated so far.  There was $3.1-million in projects included in the 2022 budget... but, several council members pushed to have the projects acted on separately -- outside of the general spending plan.  Sundquist adds that department heads have had their projects in place since October.  Sundquist says he hopes to see many more projects approved in January because of the lead-time for ordering parts, and materials... and, because the money has a deadline in which to be spent.

Buffalo woman arrested for alleged road rage incident on Christmas Day in Jamestown...
A Buffalo woman faces charges after an alleged road rage incident that occured on Christmas Day on Jamestown's eastside.  City police say they were called to the area of Winsor and Harrison Streets just before Noon on a harassment complaint.  Officers say they found that 34 year-old Cherish Woods grabbed the victim's hair through her car window... and, punched her in the face several times.  The allegations stemmed from an incident in which Wood's accused the victim of stopping too long at a red light after it had turned green.  The incident occured with the victim's 2 year-old and 6 year-old children in the car.  Police also found that Woods was wanted on warrants out of City Court.  She was arrested for second-degree harassment, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

DOT to hold information meeting on planned improvements to Route 60 between Routes 83 and 20...
The New York state Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting next month on proposed improvements to Route 60 from Route 83 to Route 20 in the town of Pomfret.  Pomfret Town Supervisor Dan Pacos says the project, which includes a center turning lane, should help improve safety.  Pacos says there have been a number of serious accidents on that stretch, especially with people turning left and someone not paying attention.  But... Pacos says the town would like to see other improvements included, including a traffic light at the intersection of Route 60 and Lakeview Avenue.  He says the DOT said that's "not in the works right now..." but, adds that people should go to the meeting and voice those concerns.  Pacos is hoping the DOT will reconsider.  The meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 12 from 4 to 6 pm at the Fredonia Opera House.

Cuomo will not be charged in two cases of alleged, unwanted kissing of two women...
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo won't face criminal charges stemming from allegations of unwanted kissing by two women... one of them a state trooper assigned to his detail.  Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah says while there was evidence to conclude the conduct the women described did occur, it not merit charges.  The alleged incident involving the trooper occurred at Cuomo's home in Mount Kisco.  In the other incident... Cuomo allegedly greeted the woman by grabbing her arm, pulling her toward him and kissing her on the cheek while the two were at an event at White Plains High School.