Both Chautauqua and Cattaraugus County's remain under a Flood Watch through 2 PM Friday... as more showers and thunderstorms are predicted to be on the way. Forecaster Dave Zaff with the National Weather Service in Buffalo says another round of showers and storms could be heavy enough to trigger more flash flooding. Zaff says you should be prepared to move quickly... even you live in an area where there hasn't been any recent flooding. He says even if you live along a creek bed that hasn't flooded in several years... and, the area gets 4 to 5 inches of rain in a short period of time "it's going to flood." Forecasters say that any thunderstorms that develop will be capable of producing localized downpours with rainfall rates of 1 to 1.5-inches per hour.
Severe storms that dumped up to five inches of rain have forced evacuations and closed roads in the Finger Lakes region through early Wednesday. Authorities tell local media that flash flooding forced some homes to be evacuated early Wednesday morning in the Yates County village of Penn Yan, on the northern end of Keuka Lake. The National Weather Service says thunderstorms that began hitting that region late Tuesday night dumped about five inches of rain in four hours. Heavy rains Tuesday caused severe flooding in Gowanda, Silver Creek, and Randolph.
The investigation is continuing into the discovery of a possible methamphetamine lab in a vehicle that was parked outside Dunkirk City Hall late Tuesday. The incident led to two people being treated for exposure to meth, including the person who reported the incident. Dunkirk Police Chief David Ortolano says the incident came as a surprise. The Southern Tier Regional Drug Task also responded to the woman's residence on Straight Road where a second person was decontaminated and sent to the hospital for treatment.
A retired Jamestown Police officer whose been involved in law enforcement most of his adult life has announced that he's running for Chautauqua County Sheriff. Frewsburg native Russ Payne says he had actually been considering a run for public office the past couple of years... after he was sought out by a couple of people... and, he talked with others. Payne says he was put in contact with the county's Republican Committee... and, they recently voted to endorse him. Payne says he's been involved with public service much of his life... and, still enjoys it. He's current doing some security work Payne says he began his career as an M-P in the U-S Air Force for four years. He then worked for the town of Carroll Police Department before taking his civil Service exam... and, became a Jamestown police officer for 20 years. He also worked for a while as a County Court Security officer. Payne says getting all the county's police agencies to work together more cooperatively would be one goal if he's elected. He will oppose incumbant Democratic Sheriff Joe Gerace... who is completing his fifth-term in office.
A top advisor to former Governor George Pataki has won the state Republican Party's nomination for attorney general. John Cahill served stints as chief of staff, general counsel and commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation with Pataki. The state GOP nominated the 55-year-old Cahill on Wednesday during its convention in Westchester County. Cahill faces Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in the November election.
Onondaga County Comptroller Robert Antonacci has won the state Republican Party's nomination to challenge New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in this fall's election. The nomination came Wednesday, the first day of the GOP's convention in Westchester County. Antonacci is a lawyer and accountant from Syracuse who was first elected county comptroller in 2007. He has vowed to participate in a pilot public campaign financing program recently rejected by DiNapoli.
A Cattaragus County couple face animal neglect charges after 14 cows and six goats were found starved to death on their property in the town of Allegeny. Sheriff's officers in Little Valley say a Chautauqua County Humane Society Investigator charged Christopher... and, Catherine Conhiser (Con-hyzer) Andera with multiple counts of Failure to Provide Sustenance -- food and water to an animal. Deputies say this followed an joint investigation with the Humane Society's Large Animal Veterinarian at the Andera's property on Wing Hollow Road. The Human Society Investigator... Rey Muniz, Jr... says the original complaint was filed late last year... and, they tried to work with the Andera's to make sure the animals were properly cared for. However... a recent follow-up health check on the animals found several had died.
A Panama man has pleaded guility to the orginal indictment for setting a neighbor's house on fire during a dispute over a barking dog just before jury selection was to begin in his re-trial. Chautauqua County District Attorney David Foley was pleased that Barack Cornell pled to the original charges... which included second-degree arson, and three counts of reckless endangerment. However... Foley was not pleased the court gave Cornell a 10 year determinate sentence. Foley says the biggest problem was the incident occured in 2008... and, getting witnesses back to testify again is one of the problems involved. Cornell was originally sentenced to 25 years in state prison... but, that was overturned on appeal... and, the case was ordered to be re-tried. Foley is happy that a maximum of five-years post release supervision was included in the sentence. If he exhibits good behavior... Foley says Cornell could be released in 2-and-a-half to 3 years. The Jeff Lubi family was alerted to the fire... which was set on a deck... and, everyone got out of the home safely.
