Pair from Dunkirk arrested for drug possession following traffic stop in Jamestown...
Two north county men have been arresed on drug-related charges following a traffic stop on Jamestown's westside early Sunday morning.  City police say a patrol stopped a car at the intersection of Fairmount and Lakin Avenues shortly before 1 a.m., and found that the driver, 29 year-old Preston Lawrence, Jr. of Dunkirk, was in possession of drug packaging material... a digital scale and cash.  A further search uncovered 19.5-grams of Fentanyl, and a quantity of crack-cocaine concealed on Lawrence's person.  The passenger of the car, 38 year-old Jonathan Herdzik, also of Dunkirk, was also found in possession of a quantity of fentanyl.  Police say Lawrence was charged with third and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance... two counts of second-degree criminal use of Drug Paraphernalia... and, tampering with physical evidence.  Herdzik is charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled Substance.  He was issued an appearance ticket... while Lawrence was jailed pending arraignment.

City man arrested for driving drunk during bizarre domestic incident...
A Jamestown man is accused of drunk driving and other charges after he allegedly followed a woman in his car who had an order of protection against him Sunday morning.  City police say they were called to investigate a "walk-in" domestic incident in which 62 year-old Martin Thiel was following the victim... directly violating the order.  Officers later saw him cross the solid, yellow line in the median on West Third Street... and, did so for some time.  Police stopped Thiel and he was found to be drunk, and he was arrested for second-degree criminal contempt... DWI... and, failure to keep right.  He was taken to the city jail pending arraignment.

One more investor being sought for Gateway Lofts project in Jamestown...
The Gateway Loft's project to put more then 100 units of affordable housing into the Gateway Center near downtown Jamestown is still trying to find one more investor.  However... City Develoment Director Crystal Surdyk is optimistic the project may also receive a boost from Governor Kathy Hochul's proposed "Housing Compact."  Surdyk says she recently met with some of the project's partners to see what they can do to help find that investor.  She says there's also the matter of having the time frame extended for the "Code Blue" homeless shelter there for the increased number of homeless in the city.  Surdyk says the partners currently have "all of their funding lined up except for one piece..." so the city has been discussing how they can assist with that.  She says she's confident that the project will move forward.  The Gateway Lofts Project... first proposed about three years ago... is expected to create 110 units for housing for both homeless... and, low to moderate income people.

City man arrested for trying to choke woman during domestic incident...
A Jamestown man has been arrested for allegedly trying to choke a woman during a domestic incident on the city's southside late last Saturday night.  Jamestown Police were called to the scene just after 10 p.m., and, their investigation found that 48 year-old Patrick Smallman applied pressure to the victim's throat, and then threw her against a couch.  Officers say they arrested Smallman for criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation... and, took him to the city jail pending arraignment.

One of Wendel's major focuses during State of County Address in late March will be Chautauqua Lake...
Chautauqua Lake will be one of the focuses of County Executive P-J Wendel's annual State of the County Address later this month.  Wendel hinted at some of what he'll talk about during the speech... especially funding for lake maintenance.  He noted his disappointment over a proposal made public recently by the Ellery Town Board... and, says it needs to be a "team effort" to both improve and maintain the lake.  Wendel says there are already a couple of things that have been in the works in trying to create "sustainable funding" for the lake.  One of the proposals that Wendel has been looking at is an annual "boat user fee" that he believes will bring in about $2.5-million.  He made his comments for last weekend's "Community Spotlight" program on the six Media One Radio Stations.

Angola man arrested for alleged Roofing Scam...
An Erie County, New York man is accused of pocketing $2,500 paid to him for a roofing job in August of 2021 that he never did.  Sheriff's officers say 42 year-old James Haskins of Angola had been hired by an unidentified victim in the town of Pomfret to complete a roofing project.  However... deputies say that Haskins didn't purchase any supplies, or do any work on the roof.  Late last week... Haskins turned himself in to deputies on a fourth-degree Grand Larceny charge.

LaMancuso formally announces run for city court judge...
A city native who's been practicing law in Jamestown for nearly a decade has formally announced that he is running for City Court Judge this November.  City Democrats have also announced their endorsement of John LaMancuso... who is currently the chairman and a partner in the law firm of Lewis & Lewis.  LaMancuso says when he was presented with the opportunity to run for city court judge... "I jumped at the opportunity."  He says the city is "facing serious threats to public safety in this community, particularly firearm and domestic violence crime.”