During a regular meeting of the Jamestown School Board last night, a new Principal for Jamestown High School was announced....
Effective July 1st, Dr. Rosemary Bradley will replace current principal Mike McElrath as he begins duties as the head of the new JPS Success Academy. In a printed release, District Superintendent Bret Apthorpe says, "Her wide-ranging educational experience, passion to see all children succeed both academically as well as socially and emotionally, combined with her enthusiasm to engage families and community, makes her a perfect fit to lead Jamestown High School." Rosemary Bradley has over 23 years experience as an educator and is currently an assistant principal of the Alternative Education Program and Special Education Program at the Sullivan County BOCES. Dr. Bradley indicated her excitement to join the community saying, "I look forward to meeting the families, students, staff and community members who have invested their lives to make Jamestown the unique gem it is."
Police around the Jamestown-area worked together Tuesday afternoon to stop a large amount of Heroin from winding up on city streets.....
City Police Captain Bob Samuelson says members of the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, along with members of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, were investigating a 32 year-old woman, when they stopped her car on Fluvanna Avenue Extention about 2 PM. They recovered about 57-grams of Heroin inside the vehicle.
Samuelson says, while crystal and powdered meth has been more prevalent in recent months in Jamestown, Heroin has "not gone away" and is still an issue. The task forces were assisted by Sheriff's officers and the State Police. Peterson was sent to the Chautauqua County Jail on charges of third and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance... and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. (**If you have any information on illegal drug activity in Jamestown, you can contact the Metro Drug Task Force confidentially at 483-TIPS. You can also use the Tips 4-1-1 app.)
Tonight is the night for placing flags at the graves of veterans at Lakeview Cemetery. The United Veterans Council of Jamestown organizes the event....
Council Secretary, Melodie Paladino, says volunteers should gather at Soldier's Circle at Lakeview at 6 PM. Around 200 volunteers helped in last year's event including many families, community groups, and businesses. More help would be welcomed as around 4,500 flags need to be placed to mark the grave of every veteran at Lakeview and two adjacent cemeteries. Paladino says, the event will go on, rain or shine. Lakeview Cemetery General Manager, Hugh Golden, says it's a 'glorious display' when all the flags are in place throughout the grounds.
The Jamestown Department of Development has rolled out it's 2019 Community Development Block Grant, and HOME Program proposals....
During a public hearing last Monday night... City Development Director Vince DeJoy outlined the $1.48-million program, most of which will come from the U-S Department of Housing and Urban Development. DeJoy says the plan was created with a lot of community input but, mainly from two meetings held earlier in the year.
DeJoy says the big, new proposal is $100,000 in funding for the new Riverwalk Skate Park, that's being developed with the held of the Tony Hawk Foundation. The second is $110,000 to rehabilitate the restrooms at Chadakoin Park. DeJoy says the plan is available on the city's website at JamestownNY.net. He says it can also be viewed at his office at city hall. He adds it's also available at the Prendergast Library. DeJoy says the public can continue giving input for the next 30 days.
The Chautauqua County Legislature has approved using $65,000 in bed tax monies to support use of herbicides in one part of Chautauqua Lake, and to have a third-party monitor use around the lake....
Lawmakers unanimously approved the measure, which will pay Princton Hydro $35,000 for the monitoring, with $10,000 more coming from the Chautauqua Lake Management and Watershed Alliance. Acting Chairman Pierre Chagnon says the other $30,000 is for using herbicide in Burtis Bay.
Three residents spoke against the use of herbicides, especially at this time of the year. Fisherman Mike Butler of West Ellicott showed a picture of three fish he caught in an area treated by 2-4-D, a pesticide that is also used on invasive lake weeds. He says applying the herbicide right now isn't fair to local fishermen. Bemus Point's Jane Conroe says she's pleased to see $35,000 being used to pay for monitoring the impacts of the herbicides on the lake. However, she opposed the use of the herbicides this early in the year because most fish in the lake are still spawning.
County lawmakers also approved a proposal to assist the newly formed 'Chautauqua Lake Pops by the Shore' with $10,000 from the 3-percent occupancy tax reserve fund. The measure was approved previously by two legislative committees and, was approved last night, 15-to-1 with Jay Gould voting no. More on that story later.
National Arbor Day was held last month, but Wednesday the city of Jamestown officially recognized Arbor Day with a tree planting on the newly-constructed Greater Jamestown Riverwalk Bike Path....
City Arborist Dan Stone hosted the planting of the new "Heritage" River Birch tree next to the "Overlook Pad" off the bike path's West Eighth Street entrance. In addition to being a Tree City-USA for the 38th year in a row, Stone says Jamestown was also again recognized for going "above and beyond" what's required for the designation.
Stone and Mayor Sam Teresi accepted their newest Treet City-USA banner and, Teresi spoke about the importance of the designation, and, maintaining the city's Urban Forest. He says having the trees and plenty of green space adds the the city's quality of life and, that's attractive to people and businesses. They also recognized several city and community leaders for their support of the efforts to build and replace the city's tree stock. In particular, they recognized the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.
Clymer Central School District officials will meet next month to discuss which way to go in the wake of Tuesday's defeat of the proposed $11.49-million budget plan.....
Clymer Superintendent Ed Bailey tells us that he was "disappointed" with the result, but, happy that 580 people voted for the spending plan. Bailey says, though, they did not receive the 60-percent "supermajority" required to pass a budget that exceeds the state's 2-percent property tax cap. The Clymer budget increased the tax levy by 13-percent. Bailey says the school board will meet to discuss options on June 10th. Another public hearing will be set and, he says the second budget vote would take place on June 18th. Tuesday's vote was 580 yes, 459 no.
Lawmakers in the New York state Assembly's Republican minority want to extend the time between parole hearings for prison inmates doing time for certain violent felony convictions......
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb was joined at the state Capitol Tuesday by other GOP lawmakers and Ramona Bantle-Fahy of Cattaraugus County to call for the passage of "Ramona's Law." Gowanda Assemblyman Joe Giglio says Bantle-Fahy approached him about a year ago... and, asked for a law to extend the time between parole reconsiderations from 2 to 5 years.
Giglio says the bill regards inmates convicted of violent felonies such as first and second-degree murder, rape and predatory sexual assault against a child. Bantle-Fahy was raped and kidnapped in 1992 and, has had to deal with having to face the man who raped her every two years. The man imprisoned for the crimes was denied parole this past March.
