Chautauqua County battered by high winds over the past two days; 74 MPH gust clocked in Forestville...
Some Chautauqua County residents spent most of last night and overnight in the dark... as winds up to 74 mph hit the region.  The National Weather Service in Buffalo says the winds come in front of a strong cold front that will soon move into the area.  We understand that two north county schools have cancelled classes for today due to the high winds... and, damage... and, one in the south county -- Frewsburg -- was on a two hour delay due to outages in the Kiantone and Carroll areas.  That 74 mph wind gust was recorded in Forestville late last night... while there was a 72 mph gust at the Dunkirk Airport.  At the height of the outages late yesterday... about 7,800 National Grid customers were without power... but, by 8:15 this morning... that number had been reduced to 3,400.  The High Wind Warning issued yesterday and for overnight has now been reduced to a High Wind Advisory.  The complete forecast is coming up.

Kitchen fire contained to that part of a Falconer home...
Four south county fire departments responded to a reported kitchen fire late Sunday afternoon in the village of Falconer.  Chautauqua County Fire dispatchers say Falconer fire crews were called to a home at 322 Elmwood Ave. 5 p.m., and, were joined at the scene by crews from Kennedy, Kiantone, and Gerry.  No injuries were reported... and, once the fire was out... crews were doing clean-up and overhaul work.  No cause has been reported.

House fire in Westfield injures one person...
A clogged dryer vent inside a town of Westfield home is to blame for a fire that injured one person early last weekend.  Chautauqua County emergency dispatchers say Westfield and Ripley fire crews were called to the scene at 8741 Barber Rd. shortly before 6 p.m. Friday for a fire with possible entrapment.  One person was taken to an Erie, Pa. hospital for treatment.  Once the fire was out... county Fire Investigators were called into to look for the origin and cause of the blaze.  They determined it was accidental.  No other injuries were reported.

Molitor has mixed view of State Assembly "One-House Budget" proposal and votes against the measure...
Chautauqua County's representative in the New York State Assembly says has mixed views of a lot of the chamber's "one-house" budget bill.  But... Westfield's Andrew Molitor says the bad outweighs the good... and, that's why he voted against it.  Molitor says the main reason is the spending plan had no imput from the Minority Republicans -- like himself.  That budget plan totals $272-billion... which is $9.2-billion more than the governor proposed.  However... local Assemblyman Andrew Molitor says he voted "no" on the measure because it spends too much.. and, taxes too much.  Molitor says he would like the state to eliminate income taxes, and taxes on health insurance premiums, among others.  Majority Democrats have included a one-time, $2.6-billion utility rebate program called "Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate" that would come from the state's general fund.  Assembly Republicans have their owner LOWER Act... which Molitor says provides rebates directly from the amount "overcharged" by energy companies to cover the cost for renewables.  That energy surcharge has been collected by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority... which has done work on clean energy options for the past 50 years.  The new state budget is due by Apr. 1. 

Despite cold weather Saturday, Jamestown's "Turn the River Green" another big success...
More than 200 people turned out last Saturday morning in downtown Jamestown to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the turning of the Chadakoin River green.  Irish music greeted those who braved the cold temperatures along the Greater Jametown Riverwalk for the 30th annual "Turn the River Green" put on by Collaborative Children's Solutions... and, the city of Jamestown.  The head of CCS... Patrick Smeraldo... especially praised a city Public Works crew -- led by Parks Manager Dan Stone -- that was also busy taking care of wind storm damage.  And... Jamestown's "Lucky Leprechan" did "his deal..." with the help of the special dye the Board of Public Utilities puts into the water that turns it green.  Jamestown is one of three U.S. cities that does this.  The other two are Chicago, and San Antonio, Tx.  Chautauqua County Executive P.J. Wendel was also on hand... and, expressed his appreciation for so many people turning out on a cold day.

Search for Lakewood-area man continues...
Lakewood-Busti Police are asking for the public's help in finding a Lakewood man reported missing since March 3.  Police say they are requesting that residents and businesses located along the Chautauqua Lake shoreline for any help regarding 64 year-old Daniel "Scott" Emerson.  In a Facebook post... the department says Emerson is is 5'7" tall... 190 pounds, and has gray hair.  Police says he was believed to be driving a 2015 maroon F150 and was last seen on Fairmount and Lakeview Avenues in the village around 12:30 a.m. the day he went missing.  Police are especially asking people with any home or business surveillance cameras facing the lake to review footage from 12:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 3.  Investigators are asking the public to look for any video showing a vehicle driving on the ice of Chautauqua Lake during that time period.  If you have any information... call Lakewood-Busti Police at 763-9563.