Warm-up gives way to rain, then snow and bitter cold...
It was the most difficult commute in some time for some drivers in the Jamestown-area this morning after our weather went from the mid-50s with rain... to ice, snow sub-freezing temperatures. Our brief February thaw came to an end overnight... with rain changing over to mixed precipitation, then snow. The National Weather Service in Buffalo is continuing a Flood Warning until 8 o'clock tonight after high water and flooding was still reported in the region today. Forecasters say a rain-snow mix turned to all snow in the early morning hours today. Forestville reported the most new snow, 7-inches in the region overnight. Route 60 south of Jamestown from Kimball Stand to Frewsburg was closed due to flood waters and ice this morning.
Wendel announces Gerace Office Building and Courthouse closed due to electrical issues from flooding...
Chautauqua County's Office Building is closed today... temporarily... due to an electrical problem caused by flooding in the lower part of the building yesterday afternoon. That from County Executive P.J. Wendel... who issued the temporary closing late Thursday... after the water got into a major electrical panel. Wendel says they're on generator power today to keep phones and Internet up and running. In addition... Wendel says the County Courthouse next door will also be closed today. He says all other county locations will be open and operational as normal.
Gas prices continue upward trend, fueled in recent days by ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine...
The on-going tensions between Russia and Ukraine are among a number of factors that continue to push the cost of gasoline upward in the United States. That from AAA East Central... and, local Congressman Tom Reed. During his weekly telephone conference call with Southern Tier Media this week... Reed noted that -- since Russia is a major player in the world oil markets -- what happens there influences the price. He says it's important to keep the pressure on Russian President Vladimer Putin to get him to back off. Reed says there need to be consequences if Putin does further invade Ukraine. Rising demand... with a drop in total domestic gasoline stocks last week... continued to push prices up. Locally... AAA says the cost of a gallon of regular, unleaded gas in the Jamestown area has reached $3.70. That's a five-cent increase. Nationally... AAA says the high cost of crude oil is the main culprit in the national price rising four-cents to $3.48 a gallon. The cost per barrel of crude oil is now just over $93 a barrel.
North County man arrested for alleged two-year old sex offense...
A Fredonia man has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a juvenile victim back in 2020. Sheriff's officers along with Fredonia Village Police say they arrested 23 year-old Jay Cerrie of Wilson Blvd. after a lengthy investigation into the case. Deputies say a warrant was issued for Cerrie's arrest, and he was taken into custody this past Tuesday on one count each of third-degree rape... and, endangering the welfare of a child... and, two counts of third-degree criminal sex act. Cerrie was arraigned... and, will appear in court at a later date.
Local schools head into Winter Break anticipating governor's potential move on mask mandate...
Local school districts head into the February Winter break waiting to see what Governor Kathy Hochul does regarding mask mandates once students get back into class. There are currently at least two lawsuits -- one in the Buffalo area and the other on Long Island -- where citizens and parents are suing the governor and other state officials because they believe the mandates are "unconstitutional." Jamestown School Superintendent Kevin Whitaker says there are two questions right now... the first being if the mandate is dropped... then do decisions fall on local school boards... or the local Health Department. Whitaker says school boards have a lot of experience in dealing with school matters... but, they aren't "health experts." He says the other is what protocals remain in place for such areas as social distancing... where masks should still be used... and, quarantining. Governor Hochul has also said she wants students tested for the virus before returning to school at the end of the break. She says that's another metric officials will look at.
Winter Festival's ice castle survives warm-up... activites begin tonight...
After no event last year because of COVID restrictions... the Mayville Winter Festival is returning to Lakeside Park this weekend. Festival spokesman, Brian Pender expects up to 10,000 people to 'bundle up' and come on out for the festivities. Pender says their local Mayville-Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce, of which he's a board member, is putting on the festival. He says crews were able to bury the castle in snow, and keep a tarp on it to keep the ice from melting. The castle will be lit at 6 p.m. tonight... with events all day Saturday and a few more on Sunday. Brian Pender has more than a casual interest in the festival because his grandfather, Don Hogan, who was one of the people who started up the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau. Hogan was also involved in the ice castle program. Pender says tourism has been important to his family. Again... this is the 36th Mayville Winter Festival. A full schedule is available on their Facebook page.
