Third person now dead from injuries in tragic, Cattaraugus County two-car fatal...
A third-person has now succumbed to their injuries from last weekend's fatal, head-on crash in the Cattaraugus County town of Freedom that claimed two other lives. State Police in Machias now say 24 year-old Dahlia Klink... who was driving a small sedan that was struck by a pick-up truck driven by her brother... died from her injuries at the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo. Troopers say 21 year-old Evan Klink of Freedom was westbound on Freedom Road just after Noon Saturday... when he apparently drove into the on-coming lane -- on purpose -- but, then lost control of the truck and it hit the car head-on. Police say two girls inside his sister's car, 17 year-old Havanah Lopez of Java, and 6 year-old Molly Kibler of Freedom, died at the scene. Dahlia Klink and a 4 year-old passenger were taken to a regional hospital... and the 4 year-old is still hospitalized. Evan Klink was treated for minor injuries and taken to the State Police barracks in Warsaw for an evaluation. The passenger in his truck... 19 year-old Cameron Klink was also taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. Police say the investigation is continuing.
NTSB releases preliminary report on double-fatal plane crash at Jamestown Airport; says pilot was training for upcoming examination...
The pilot of the small plane that crashed earlier this month at the Chautauqua County Airport near Jamestown was going through training when the fatal accident occured. That's the finding in a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board on the Tues., June 6 accident... in which the both the pilot and his passenger were killed. The report states that the pilot -- 52 year-old Roger Ryall of Toronto -- had just finished performing the second of two "touch-and-go" landings at the airports Runway 31 shortly before 2 p.m. It says the plane climbed to about 100 to 200 feet when it banked steeply to the left... then banked right... and, it's Cirrus Aircraft Parachute deployed. The plane then crashed in a field near a wooded area on the airport grounds.
Very successful Juneteenth Celebration in Jamestown wraps up Sunday night...
The Buffalo based gospel group ‘Deliverance’ brought the 2023 Juneteenth festival to a powerful conclusion Sunday evening with a strong revival theme. Chairperson Regina Brackman called this year’s event one of the biggest ever... and, the outpouring of support from all parts of the community "had been outstanding." Brackman, who is also a city councilwoman, extended a big thank you to Love School principal Cynthia Johnson for allowing the Juneteenth committee to meet there and for a banner the school made. She says they had each student make a handprint for the banner that was on display during the celebration. Brackman adds they need more volunteers are needed to make Juneteenth happen. Anyone who’d like to help should contact her through social media, or the Jamestown City Hall.
Reception held for new Artscape works to be displayed in downtown Jamestown...
The Chautauqua Art Gallery on North Main Street in Jamestown was packed with people Friday evening for the opening reception of the ‘Artscape Banner Project.’ Gallery owner, Leslie Calimeri, got onto a chair to get the crowd's attention. Calimeri says they had 248 pieces submitted... and, juried. She says 53 were selected to be put up. Calimeri says the 53 works include paintings, photographs, sculptures -- and, even jewelry. The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation is a co-sponsor of the Artscape Project. Executive Director, Frank Bessey, talked about the show’s significance -- saying that both art and the downtown area are important -- and combining them will help. In a few weeks the banners will be up and printed guides will be available showing where each banner is located.
Four city residents arrested on drug and weapons charges during late week traffic stop...
Four people from Jamestown are accused of drug and weapons related charges following a traffic stop early last Friday morning on the city's westside. Jamestown police conducted a traffic stop just before 2:30 a.m. with their violent crimes and K-9 units at the intersection of North Main and West Ninth Streets. While investigating... police noticed that one of the occupants... 26 year-old Nicole Grimm... was drinking alcohol inside the vehicle. She gave officers a false name... and, she was allegedly found in possession of a small amount of cocaine. Officers say a further search led them to find a loaded handgun with a extended magazine that none of the four had legal possession of. Police then found cocaine in possession of 33 year-old Kayla Slagle... and, as 38 year-old Dion Carr was being taken into custody... he tried to hide some cocaine in the back of a police car. Those three... along with 31 year-old T'anna Robinson... were charged with second and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Other charges were also filed against Slagle and Carr.
Yassou! Festival wraps up Saturday...
At the Yassou festival this weekend, there was music inside St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church... as well as outside. Father Soterios Rousakis talked to the large crowd Saturday afternoon about the two unique aspects of the festival. The first is being able to share their Greek heritage, including food and dance. He adds the other is being able to share their faith with them. Rousakis became priest at St. Nicholas in October 2019, just prior to COVID-19... so the first two years they weren't able to hold the festival.
