House fire in Kiantone sends lone occupant to the hospital...
Fire heavily damaged a town of Kiantone home last night... and, sent the lone occupant of the house to the hospital for treatment of injuries. The County's Fire Dispatch Center says Kiantone firefighters were called to the scene at 2490 Brown Rd. just after 7 p.m. Officials say several mutual aid companies were also called in to battle the blaze. Once the fire was out... the Kiantone fire chief called in the county's Fire Investigation Team to look for the cause. The cause remains undetermined today... and there will be further investigation. The sole occupant of the home was transported to UPMC Chautauqua Hospital for treatment.
Three city residents arrested after cannabis, and loaded pistol is found during traffic stop...
Three Jamestown residents have been arrested on drug and weapons charges following a traffic stop on Jamestown's eastside last Saturday night. City police say they... along with a K-9 Unit... conducted a traffic stop on East Fifth Street -- near Pine -- shortly before 8 p.m. Officers say they saw the three people inside the vehicle consuming cannabis. Police say they searched the car... and, found a loaded semi-automatic pistol with a large capacity feeding
device. None of the three occupants of the vehicle... 18 year-old Keiera Corbin... 20 year-old Oshon Goodlow... or 24 year-old Emmanuel Davis... had a valid pistol permit making the possession illegal. All three were taken into custody... and, transported to the city jail on charges of second and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon... and, Goodlow faces traffic violations -- including consumption of cannabis inside a motor vehicle. All three were jailed pending arraignment.
Silver Creek woman jailed without bail for allegedly murdering daughter back in April...
A Silver Creek woman is now jailed without bail for second-degree after an investigation into the death of her 12-year-old daughter. The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office says 36-year-old Ashley Bertino caused the death of Maya Smith on Apr. 29. While he didn't speak in much detail about the circumstances surrounding the death... Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said Bertino engaged in a course of conduct evincing depraved indifference to Smith's life... making it more than a "reckless or negligence act." Bertino was arrested Friday on a warrant out of Hanover Town Court, and Schmidt says she is being held in the County Jail in Mayville with no bail set. He adds that a preliminary hearing is set for later this week.
Wendel signs 2025 budget that includes tax rate decrease, but, also expresses concern for 2025...
Chautauqua County's 2025 budget is now signed... sealed and delivered. However... there are still some concerns as we near the end of 2024. That from County Executive P.J. Wendel... who says he's proud to have signed the 301.8-million dollar spending plan crafted by his budget team. However... he says the number of unfunded state mandates that local taxpayers have to foot the bill for totals about 61-percent of the tax levy. Still... Wendel says they were able to lower the tax rate by 21-cents per $1,000 next year. He says that will be the case involving any homeowner that did not make upgrades to their home, and had no changes in local assessments. Wendel says those mandates include: medical care for inmates at the county jail... as well as Medicaid. He says... in recent years... the state has also intercepted $12-million to 14-million in another Medicaid program called FMap funding. However... Wendel says if the state were to say they could have that money back, but, had to put it into affordable housing, he would do that. The final budget includes about a $165,000 cut from Wendel's proposal because fuel costs for the county are expected to by that much lower in 2025. The tax levy in 2025 is going up by about $1.7-million. Wendel made his comments for last weekend's "Community Spotlight" program on the six Media One Radio Group stations.
Dennis Webster among those receiving Ability Awareness Awards at annual TRC Luncheon...
The Resource Center honored a number of individuals and businesses during its 35th annual Ability Awareness Awards luncheon in Dunkirk on Thursday. Among the award recipients was New York State Assemblyman Andrew Goodell... who received the Bruce Walford Community Service Award for his efforts in helping TRC obtain state funding and provide behind-the-scenes support. He says he's always been impressed by the people who run the programs, and the people who benefit from them. Meanwhile... longtime WJTN Radio personality Dennis Webster, who retired earlier this year, received TRC's Lifetime Achievement Award. He hosted the weekly "Share the Vision" program... which went in depth about everything TRC does. Webster says while it can be easy to take what TRC does for granted, he does not do that. Dennis previously received TRC's Advocate of the Year Award in 2012. The event at Shorewood Country Club.
Gillibrand speaks out on antisemetic attack in Amsterdam...
New York's junior U.S. Senator is "condemning in the strongest terms" last week's antisemetic attack on Jewish soccer fans in Amsterdam. Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand late last week issued the written statement... calling the attack "barbaric" and "utterly despicable." Gillibrand adds that "as antisemitism rises across the globe, we all must denounce these horrific attacks and act to hold perpetrators of such violence accountable. The Dutch authorities must do more to protect the Jewish community, as should all of our partners and allies with sizable Jewish populations."
