Accused killer Michael Burham back in Chautauqua County, indicted for first and second-degree murder...
The case against the Ashville man accused of shooting and killing a Jamestown woman in May of last year is back in Chautauqua County after he was arraigned on multiple murder charges. Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt late Wednesday announced that 35 year-old Michael Burham was indicted by the county Grand Jury for first- and second-degree murder.. and, third-degree arson in connection with the shooting death of Kala Hodgkin on May 11, 2023. Hodgkin had previously had a child with Burham... who was also accused of setting fire to a car belonging to another woman he had a previous relationship with. The county jail confirmed that Burham was jailed without bail. Schmidt says Burham was accused by Hodgkin -- two-weeks before the murder -- of raping her and holding her against her will... and, a warrant was issued for his arrest. After the murder... Burham fled... and, was accused of kidnapping an elderly couple from Warren County... whom he forced to drive him to South Carolina where he was later captured. While jailed in Warren County... Burham escaped... and, was the subject of a massive manhunt before he was found a week later. He has already pled guilty to the Pennsylvania charges.
Man arrested following domestic incident on Route 20 bridge in town of Hanover...
A domestic dispute on a bridge connecting Chautauqua and Erie Counties in the town of Hanover led to the arrest of a man who allegedly threatened the safety of the other person involved. Sheriff's officers say they were called to the Route 20 Bridge... which goes over Cattaraugus Creek... just before 3 a.m. Tuesday. Deputies say they found that the actions of Scott McMahon put the other person in fear of their safety. Officers accuse McMahon of "recklessly" engaging in conduct that created a substantial risk of serious physical injury, and he threatened to cause physical harm to the victim. McMahon was arrested for third-degree menacing... and, second-degree aggravated harassment... and, reckless endangerment. He was taken arraigned, and will appear in Hanover Town Court at a later date.
Two people arrested in Jamestown on trespassing and drug charges...
A man and a woman were arrested last weekend after allegedly being found trespassing inside a condemned home on Jametown's southside. City police say they were called to the scene shortly after 7 p.m. last Friday for a "trespass in progress." Once they arrived... officers found 38 year-old Michael Miller, and 36 year-old Bryann Childers inside. Both were arrested for third-degree criminal trespassing... and while searching the pair... police say they were both found with quantities of cocaine. They were each additionally charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance... and, were taken to the city jail. Both were arraigned and issued appearance tickets for city court.
New United Way of Chautauqua Co. ready to kick off 2024 campaign...
With Tuesday's unanimous vote to merge both of Chautauqua County's United Ways... the new agency is moving forward with its first-ever combined fundraising campaign. United Way Director of Advancement Katie Castro says two co-chairs have been announced for the campaign. One is Silver Creek resident Kelly Borrello, a central figure in the north county's business sector and charitable organizations. She is also the wife of State Senator George Borrello. The other campaign co-chair is Bemus Point resident Bill Soffel, who owns ERA Team VP Real Estate, and Vacation Rentals. The United Way of Chautauqua County's campaign will host two official kickoff locations -- one will be in Bemus Point on Sept. 17 at a location to be determined. Community Relations Coordinator Dan Siracuse says the second one will take place on Sept. 18 at the Boardwalk in Dunkirk. The new United Way has set a goal of $1.8-million for the joint campaign.
JPS second-floor renovation at JHS provides a surprise...
"You never now what you'll find when you tear up the floor." Parts of the second-story of Jamestown High School are being fully renovated this summer. School Superintendent Kevin Whitaker says the original plans indicated there was regular concrete underneath all the layers of flooring. Instead they found "nailing concrete" which is softer than regular concrete, but, can take nails when a wood floor is attacted. He says when that was taken up... it broke up a lot of the concrete, making it unuseable. Dr. Whitakter says the remedy was a new, pourable surface on top of the nailing concrete. Otherwise, he says the major work at JHS this summer is proceeding as scheduled.
Invest-U Graduation ceremony finds 9 people receiving their certificates...
The nine newest graduates of the program ‘Invest-U’ received their certificates Wednesday afternoon at the Northwest Arena. ‘Invest-U’ is a 16 week course that helps people identify barriers in themselves and in the community that keep them in poverty. The keynote speaker was Gina Ward, Associate Director at STEL -- or Southern Tier Environments for Living. She talked about what science has learned about "hope" because it's become the biggest determinants of success over skills, or intelligence. At age 18, Alix Sandberg of Falconer is the youngest graduate to date for ‘Invest-U’ in Jamestown. He’s been inspired by the program. This is the fourth local class of ‘Invest-U’. The program is coordinated by the Resource Center with funding from the United Way and Filling the Gap.
