State DEC to discontinue Air Quality Alert for most of NYS, including Chautauqua County...
The region's Air Quality Alert due to the Canadian wildfires will expire at Midnight tonight by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Chautauqua County health officials Wednesday night issued an advisory recommending that any outdoor activities today be either postponed or cancelled. Interim Director of Public Health Dr. Michael Faulk said the Air Quality Index did reach 160 in the county about mid-day. A few activities were postponed... including the Jamestown Tarp Skunks baseball game at Diethrick Park. Air quality becomes an issue when it rises above 100 for particulate matter -- in this case mainly smoke. However... forecasters say conditions were already improving by early Thursday evening.
Schumer warns wildfires are part of accelerating effects of climate change...
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer spoke on the floor of the Senate late Wednesday morning... warning his colleagues that the poor air quality in the Northeast is being exacerbated by climate change. The Majority Leader predicted that this dramatic shift... due to the Canadian wildfires....is only the beginning. The New York Democrat says positive changes need to be made, and quickly because it's "making these disasters worse." Schumer says the smoke and fog over New York City... and, the rest of the Northeast is a warning from nature that we have a lot of work to do to reverse the effects of climate change. Officials say 85% of the wildfires in Canada are caused by lightning... and, that's being accelerated by dry, warmer conditions.
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In response to the hundreds of wildfires in Canada... New York's other U.S. Senator... Kirsten Gillibrand, has sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service. Gillibrand is calling on them to be ready for any request by Canada to help suppress the fires. The New York Democrat... who is a member of the Senate's Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, sent a letter to the head of the Forest Service, calling on them to "stand-ready" to assist Canadian fire crews under the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact.
Two Falconer residents arrested on drug possession charges at town of Ellicott hotel...
Two Falconer residents are accused of dealing drugs following a raid on a hotel room just outside the village. Sheriff's deputies say their narcotics investigators... along with those from the Jamestown and Ellicott Police Departments... executed a search warrant on Room 133 at the Quality Inn about 8 p.m. Tuesday. Officers say they found 38 year-old Jason Swan and 39 year-old Kylene Hellriegel inside... along with nearly 27-grams of methamphetamine... 7.49-grams of fentanyl... scales... packaging materials and $95 in cash. Hellriegel and Swan were each charged with two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance... and one count of second-degree criminally using Drug Paraphernalia. Both were taken to the county jail pending centralized arraignment. Police urge residents who see or know of suspicious or drug-related activity to call the Sheriff's Office Narcotics Investigators Tip line call at 800-344-8702 or 664-2420).
Sheriff says Jamestown Airport plane crash scene one of the worst he's seen...
Chautauqua County's top-cop says the scene of Tuesday afternoon's fatal airplane crash just north of the Jamestown airport is one of the worst crash scenes he's ever seen. Sheriff Jim Quattrone described the location in a field off a wooded area as having a "small debris field" meaning the aftermath was condensed into a small area. The crash... shortly after take-off just before 2 p.m., killed 52 year-old Roger Ryall of Toronto... and, 52 year-old David Hughes of British Columbia. Quattrone says Ryall was the pilot of the ill-fated plane... which appeared to have crashed quickly, and it was a difficult scene for first-responders to see. During a press conference at the airport late Tuesday... Quattrone noted that airport firemen were soon after joined by Fluvanna, and Gerry fire crews. Other mutual aid and first responders were also called to the scene. Quattrone says the plane had left Erie, Pennsylvania for Waterloo, Ontario when Ryall stopped in Jamestown to refuel. However... he says something cause a "catastrophic failure" just after take-off.
Borrello hopes to see changes in Nourish NY to better distribute funds to local food banks...
One of the key sponsors of the bill to make the Nourish NY program permanent two years ago is now pushing legislation that would fix a problem regarding the distribution of funds to regional food banks. Local State Senator George Borrello says the error involves the way the state is administering the program... and, lumping it with another program under the state Department of Health. Borrello says he's working with other key lawmakers who backed making of Nourish NY permanent. They include Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman, Michelle Hinchey... and, Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, in taking corrective action. Both are Democrats.
JPD hires new Nuisance Officer...
Several months after officially creating the position... the Jamestown Police Department now has a "nuisance officer" in place -- and out in the community. Members of the Jamestown City Council were given a report by Public Safety Committee Chairman Brent Sheldon about the officer's early days of dealing with loud noise and other nuisance complaints... with 10 people being cited for noise complaints, and one other for littering. The hiring for additional police officers... and, the nuisance officer... were approved by City Council last year. However... it's taken time to fill positions due to lower civil service numbers. The department is authorized to have up to 65 police officers... including the nuisance officer.
