In Years Past

In 1941, fines of $100 each were imposed by Judge Allen Bargar in city court on seven defendants convicted of violating the lottery law with the operation of bingo games. Three of the defendants who were arrested twice were given suspended sentences on the second charge. An appeal in the case was to be argued before County Judge Lee Ottaway after Michael Lombardo, attorney for the defendants, contended five errors had been made in the trial and conviction. The defendants were given a stay pending final decision of the appeal.

It was possible that 1,000 new jobs could be open in Jamestown with the awarding of $1,300,000,000 of defense contracts to New York manufacturers. It was anticipated 10,000 additional workers would be hired in Syracuse, 5,000 in Utica and Rochester, 1,300 in Dunkirk, 1,000 in Jamestown and 600 in Batavia.

In 1966, Musky Lake was the title of an article on Chautauqua Lake in the current issue of Sports Afield magazine. Nick Karas of the magazine visited Jamestown and fished for muskie with Don Malmrose of Bemus Point, a game protector, to get photos and information for his story. It took patience, as Karas points out, as he boated a 22.5 pound muskie on his last day on Chautauqua Lake. Karas referred to Chautauqua Lake as the “muskiest lake in the world.”

WCA Hospital was planning a new speech and hearing center, making available comprehensive facilities afforded only by institutions in Buffalo, Rochester and Cleveland. The facility would cost $300,000. No federal or state money would be used for the project.

In 2006, Mark Sanderson was leaving the Celoron Village Board with some regrets and quite a few “no” votes to his record. In fact, with two board members absent at the March 27 meeting, Sanderson’s five “no” votes forced village officials to schedule a special session for Saturday just to keep the village running. As village officials indicated, he often voted “no” – much to their frustration. But he always had his reasons. “Basically, I’m embarrassed to be associated with the village,” Sanderson said, something that largely contributed to his decision to forego a run for another term on the board. Sanderson said he regrets not doing more for the village. He also seemed to regret what he indicated is a political atmosphere in Celoron that has produced rivalries, division and disillusionment among residents. Though he hopes to work to change the village for the better as a resident, he said he has no immediate plans to reenter municipal politics.

Jamestown Public School District administrators were whistling a better tune after receiving good news on the state Legislature’s proposed 2006-07 budget. During Tuesday’s Jamestown Board of Education meeting, Raymond Fashano, Jamestown superintendent, gave a detailed presentation on what the proposed $1.1 billion increase for schools statewide meant for the district. With the preliminary information administrators received, Fashano said estimated increases in state aid – totaling about $1.8 million – administrators detailed to the board previously on potential revenue will be funded in the Legislature’s budget.

In 2011, a pair of city residents say the work of repairing the neighborhoods is all about education and paying it forward. The testimonies of their civic pride were the centerpiece of a community forum hosted by Pete Lombardi, director of neighborhood initiatives for the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation. The evening included Lombardi’s presentation of activities for the coming season and some discussion on prevailing problems in the neighborhoods. Most importantly, there were questions from the audience about how to join the citywide effort to clean up the streets of Jamestown. Stewart said the homegrown leadership in her own neighborhood of Cowden Place originates with her local Neighborhood Watch group, which has been in existence for 20 years. Discussion has extended to plans for a community garden, as well as simple reminders about the responsibilities of people who walk their dogs. She said a larger issue that needs to be addressed is sending a message to the tenant residents that they are indeed part of the community.

Some fourth-grade students were bringing the plight of their wheelchair-bound classmate to area officials’ attention. Julia Heiser, a fourth-grade teacher at Clymer Central School, said the class often goes on walking field trips around town to seek donations, study Clymer’s history or more. Whenever they go, however, someone has to wheel their classmate around the sidewalks on Route 474 into the road so hazardous sidewalks can be avoided. Not only can steering into the road be dangerous, but, Mrs. Heiser said, the students are realizing that their classmate can’t go into town by herself as no one would be available to help her steer clear of the sidewalks. “We have a say in government,” she said is a lesson she wants to teach the students, adding she wants them to learn they can do something about what happens around them.

In Years Past

In 1966, Roger Williams, “Mr. Piano” himself, appeared at Jamestown High School under the auspices of the Jamestown Optimist Club in one of the most pleasurable concerts Jamestown had been privileged to hear in several seasons, according to an account of the evening by Gerald Heglund of The Post-Journal. Throughout the program, Williams gave evidence there was no challenge he could not meet at the keyboard.

In 2006, Boating down the Chadakoin River, adding floors to Jamestown buildings and slicing out vestiges of Brooklyn Square’s broken industrial backbone are parts of a vision the Goody Clancy design group of Boston has put to paper. Their suggestions are far from final goals, but they will ultimately be determinative of Jamestown’s future feel if John Merino, Gebbie Foundation executive director, had any say in the matter. “This is not just another plan that’s going to collect dust on my shelf,” Merino told WCA physicians Wednesday. “Come hell or high water, this is going to happen.”

Smoke billowed from the roof and windows of a Route 380 home in Stockton as firefighters from eight volunteer companies battled the blaze. Raymond Solada, a neighbor who lived across the street from the fire-ravaged home, said he called the fire department for the family that occupied one of two apartments in the residence. After making the call, he said he took a fire extinguisher into the home but the fire was too intense to control. “Everyone got out OK, but they took one of the adults and the three children to the hospital to be checked out as a precaution,” an EMT at the scene said.

In 2011, Following one of the most successful seasons in program history, including a record six national tournament qualifiers, head wrestling coach Jim Beichner was named the Mid American Conference coach of the year, as announced today by the conference. The honor comes in addition to Beichner being named NYS Division I Coach of the Year twice (1996, 2004), East Coast Wrestling Association Coach of the Year and the Amateur Wrestling News Rookie Coach of the Year during his 16 seasons at Buffalo.”I am very excited for our program to receive this award. It is truly an honor to receive this from my peers in the MAC,” said Beichner, a Cassadaga Valley graduate. “We have a great group of coaches and programs within the MAC and I have a tremendous amount of respect for each program and our fellow MAC coaches.” After sending a program-Division I record six wrestlers to the NCAA championships, Beichner had guided 41 student athletes to the national tournament during his tenure. “I sincerely appreciate this recognition and hope that our program wins future awards such as this one because we are consistently winning MAC Championships, producing all-Americans and future NCAA champions. I am very proud of everyones efforts and we plan to do even more,” Beichner said.

In Years Past

Rallying to the call of the Central Labor Council and the Building and Construction Trades Council, members of local unions contributed their labor to build the civic stadium fence on Falconer Street. A volunteer force was augmented by others in the afternoon. A few non-union men appeared and were not barred from helping. The crew included four carpenters, five painters and a dozen helpers. By noon they had set up eight of the 166 sections of fence, and Charles Strandburg, city public works director, estimated by nightfall the entire south side of the field would be enclosed.

It was believed by Jamestown area druggists and hospital authorities that a contaminated drug that was the focus of a frantic search by federal authorities had not made its was to Jamestown. The American Medical Association estimated 410,000 tablets of a drug used to treat pneumonia and other infections had been contaminated with a powerful sedative. None of the drugs had been delivered to Jamestown hospitals or pharmacists.

Jamestown City Council members approved a proposal by consulting engineers Nussbaumer, Clark and Velzy to make a comprehensive study of the city’s sanitary sewer needs to serve the area from the city’s eastern edge to Harding Avenue. The committee instructed Lawrence Fletcher, acting public works director, to get a similar proposal to study the tributary area near Maple Street and inquire to the federal Housing and Urban Development Department about federal aid for both projects.

Urgent repairs were needed for College Stadium in Jamestown, according to Russell E. Diethrick, city recreation director. Diethrick, who was also a vice president of the Jamestown Dodgers, described as deplorable conditions in the park. The brickwork and masonry had deteriorated badly and the roof was leaking badly; both dugouts needed to be repaired; the mesh screen behind the batters’ box needed to be repaired or replaced and the protective screen fencing was needed for the box seat section of the grandstand. Dr. Albert W. Baisler, Jamestown Community College president, said the college would accept responsibility for the stadium structure but could not spend money made necessary by the stadium’s use by outside organizations.

The budget books haven’t even been printed as Saturday’s state budget deadline approaches, but state Sen. Cathy Young, R-Olean, says they will include an unprecedentedboost in state aid to local government. Municipalities in Mrs. Young’s 57th Senate district will receive an increase in Aid and Incentives for Municipalities funding by 24 percent, or more than $1.2 million for towns, villages and cities in Chautauqua County.

Two local business owners were offering a cash reward for the arrest and conviction of those connected to a weekend burglary near Jamestown. Larry Blose, owner of Blose Tool Repair, and Cecelia and Doug Nosel of Nosel Auctions and Antiques were offering $400 in connection to a stolen car stereo and some guns and DVDs from an apartment. Neither business was burglarized. According to Blose, his son’s car was parked in front of his building at 1487 Foote Ave. Extension early Saturday morning when someone broke into it and took out a satellite radio system, Pioneer CD player and Infinity speakers. The system is valued at $1,225.

County legislators took steps recently which will allow them to try to downsize the legislature in time for the coming 2011 elections. In 2009’s races, several Republicans received backing from the county Independence Party on the promise that they would work to try to downsize the legislature. Since that time, Democrats had made multiple downsizing proposals – all of which have been defeated by the full legislature.

The Clymer Central School Board of Education heard from family, friends and students that one budget decision they have made is wrong. On Monday during the board’s regular meeting, the budget decision to eliminate one of the guidance counselors – Corey Rhodes – during the 2011-12 school year is not making everyone happy. During the public comment portion of the meeting, Kelsey Neckers, Clymer student, told the board that more than 100 students signed a petition to keep Rhodes on as guidance counselor next school year.

In Years Past

Fifty-eight Jamestown High School girls who completed their course of instruction in first aid had become member of the Junior Red Cross disaster relief corps. Roenna E. Devall, physical education teacher, said Jamestown was the only school in the state to have such a high school organization that she knew of. The girls could help in any Red Cross disaster relief in which the Red Cross was extending relief.

A mile-a-minute race against death in a State Police patrol car took five-week-old Charles Lombardo, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lombardo of Jamestown, to Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. The child was afflicted with a neck tumor that affected his breathing. He was being driven to Buffalo by a nurse when his condition worsened and the State Police were summoned, making the 35-mile trip in 35 minutes.

Lakewood Mayor Roland C. Rapp and Wayne Tyler, public works superintendent, were in Washington, D.C., to meet with Gene Larson, Gordon Miklehum and Anthony Angelo of the federal Economics Development Agency. The Lakewood Village Board had applied for aid from the agency to plan and build additional water facilities. A water testing report showed there was sufficient water in the village until an expanded project could begin.

Extensive repairs to the bridge on Big Tree-Sugar Grove Road over the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad were being made by Chautauqua County Highway Department crews. The bridge, located on the section of road between Fairmount Avenue and Hunt Road, was to be closed for two or three more weeks. Steel framework and the road surface were all being replaced.

Rogers Elementary School faculty and pupils were remembering community residents who have passed away by honoring them with a Community Remembrance Garden. The idea for the garden was created after three Rogers teachers passed away: Bobbie Murphy, Roxane Gligora and Linda Taylor. But instead of remembering just the three teachers, the school elected to honor everyone who has been part of the school and its community. The garden would be located in front of the school around the existing flagpole. The garden will consist of a brick patio with benches, shrubs, three sculptures – of a teacher reading to children – and a flower garden encircling the flagpole. The school has held various fund raisers to raise money for the garden. “We had a very good fund-raisers at the Frewsburg Legion and now we are selling inscribed bricks for $30 that will be placed in the garden,” said Christopher Tracy, Rogers Elementary principal. “We are very pleased and appreciative of those who have supported us. A year from this fall we’re hoping to have the garden in place.”

Only Jeremy Hermida knew what it feels like to step to the plate as a pinch-hitter in his first major league at-bat and hit a grand slam. The Florida rookie did it last Aug. 31 in Miami against St. Louis Cardinals reliever Al Reyes. “To start off that way was something I couldn’t even dream about, Hermida says. “It was like I was floating around the bases. A first-round draft pick in 2002, Hermida began is pro career with the Gulf Coast League Marlins and hit .224 in 38 games. Then he came to Jamestown for 13 games and hit .319 with two doubles and one triple for the Jammers.

Visitors to lakeside destinations this summer may find the shoreline not as well maintained as it has been in the past. Bemus Point Mayor Bryan Dahlberg said officials from the Chautauqua Lake Association visited the village board’s Wednesday meeting to discuss how state and county funding cuts to the agency will impact shoreline cleanup efforts. Dahlberg said CLA program cuts will result in reduced crews and shifts to clean the shoreline. Their moneys have dwindled, said Dahlberg. The lake is going to be a lot worse off than it has been, he said. Dahlberg said more equipment will be parked than running due to the association not having funding to man the equipment. Without the lake, we might as well turn off the lights, he said, adding when people spend money in Bemus Point it also assists other portions of the county.

In Years Past

In 1941, possible imprisonment in federal custody and heavy fines were possible for a number of Jamestown young men who had failed to file their questionnaires with the draft boards or who had not notified draft boards of changes of address. The names of at least two men who had not complied with draft regulations had been turned over to the FBI while four others could be added to the list. “While members of the board find it a most unpleasant duty to order these delinquents arrested or imprisoned, it is a fact that the records of our board are checked regularly by a regular army officer from the Selective Service headquarters at Albany who has asked for the arrest of persons found delinquent,” said William S. Hake, chairman of Draft Board 652.

Attorney General Robert H. Jackson declared that “the governments of Germany, Italy and Japan violated a right and affected the interest of the United States when they resorted to war in violation of their treaty obligations.” As a consequence, Jackson asserted in an address prepared for the International Bar Association conference, modern international law provided the United States with “ample and practically unlimited basis for discriminatory action” by aiding the countries attacked by Germany, Italy and Japan. “There can be no doubt that the political, territorial, economic and cultural integrity of the Western hemisphere is menaced by totalitarian activities now going on outside this hemisphere,” Jackson said.

In 2006, sometimes it’s hardest to evaluate something when it’s happening right in front of your face, eight hours a day. That’s the analogy Assemblyman Bill Parment, D-North Harmony, gives to the state’s ongoing budget process. While he is involved in conference committees to hammer out disputes between the Senate and Assembly – including education, one of the more contentious issues – Parment said it’s sometimes hard to judge how the entire process is moving. “When you’re in the middle of a process you can’t see the whole thing because you’re working on specific areas and various areas come into focus at different times,” Parment said. “So, for instance, they’ll have an agreement on housing but energy is still outstanding. It’s difficult to give an overview until it’s done.”

A third party was entering ownership of the former Mayville Central School. Chautauqua Inns agreed in principle to purchase the former school’s auditorium. “We’re still negotiating terms of the contract. Nothing has been finalized,” explained Joel Seachrist, town attorney. Sid Compton, town supervisor, said the agreement will allow the town to use the auditorium occasionally, but not have to maintain it. “Rather than have the taxpayers own it, it just made sense. They’re purchasing it. They’re doing the renovation costs,” he said. Compton said the auditorium, which originally was a gymnasium with a stage, will serve as a large banquet hall. “It just saves us from spending our nickels doing the same thing,” he said. “It’s a win-win as far as we want it to be a banquet hall. We don’t have to spend the money to renovation it. Also, it can go back on the tax rolls.” Brent Galupa, the general manager for Chautauqua Inns said there’s a need for a large banquet-type facility that can hold up to 300 people.

In 2011, like many, the county’s legislators have begun reviewing the recently released census numbers. Some things are apparent from first glance, such as the fact that the county has lost only 3.5 percent – not the 4.1 percent which was predicted. Majority Leader Larry Barmore, R-Gerry, said he was still digesting the numbers and didn’t have any specific comments, though he pointed to the population shifts within the county. While some municipalities, such as the cities of Dunkirk and Jamestown and the towns of Portland and North Harmony, have seen decreases, there have been smaller gains in other parts of the county. Minority Leader Rudy Mueller, D-Lakewood, spoke similarly about the numbers. Though there’s no denying there was quite a loss, he pointed to the positive factors that bring and keep people locally.

Hair, nails and skin services are what Mirage has to offer the Jamestown area. Mirage is the new hair salon located at 707 Fairmount Ave., Unit 1, Jamestown, that was opened by Ciara Jones and Nikki Shults in February. On April 30, the salon will host a grand-opening celebration that will last all week long with giveaways, specials and a lot of giveaways from area businesses. One special will be that first-time customers will receive 20 percent off all services.

In Years Past

In 1941, a much more strenuous physical examination would be used for potential Jamestown police officers and firefighters. One of the requirements some candidates in the past have had little to worry about was weight in proportion to height. Under the new set up, members of the fire department could not be less than 5 feet, seven inches tall while police officers could not be less than 5 feet, nine inches tall. Candidates in either department could not wear glasses. Obesity, muscular weakness or poor physique were cause for rejection.

Food dealers of the city and several relief clients gathered to hear an outline of the food stamp plan and to get more information about the way the system would work. The plan was a new way of distributing surplus food to families receiving public assistance. A delay in instituting the plan was caused by a state ruling regarding how the stamps would be handled, though Jamestown was told to be ready to start as soon as the law permitted.

In 1966, U.S. Rep. Charles Goodell, R-Jamestown, said he would continue to push for improvements to the Dunkirk Harbor as a small boat harbor of refuge on Lake Erie. The Army Corps of Engineers had announced tentative plans for small boat harbor improvements on Cattaraugus Creek at Sunset Bay. Goodell said both Dunkirk Harbor and Lake Erie State Park were listed for development as small boat harbors. Goodell was disappointed with reports from Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s office that the federal government would construct small boat harbors every 30 miles on Lake Erie. With such a harbor at Sunset Bay, no harbor could be built in Dunkirk. Goodell said the Corps of Engineers had indicated a need for small boat harbors at intervals much less than 30 miles apart.

In 2006, Eliot Spitzer, a candidate for governor, was catching fire for his comment that the economy in parts of New York state were devastated and looked like Appalachia. An Associated Press story said many state residents agreed with Spitzer’s assessment. “There were a lot more jobs, a lot more things to do,” said Don Charboneau, a father of three from Schenectady with the city’s huge General Electric Co. complex a pale shadow of its former self behind him. Up the street, another sprawling factory that used to “haul the world” by building America’s locomotives now sits mostly idle and rusting. Across from a shuttered hardware store owned by a family for generations sits a pornography shop, now one of the boulevard’s fixtures.

With fewer and fewer places left on the shores of Chautauqua Lake for residential homes, a local developer believed places in the country with a good view are next in line. “Lake accessibility is getting smaller,” said Jon Wood, the owner of WoodCrest Golf Course. Using his business intuition, Wood was working with town and county officials to construct a handful of homes that will sit right on the golf course in a gated community. If approved, the new development would be called WoodCrest Vacation Homes. The idea, Wood explained, is interested buyers will design their own dream home with an architect, have it constructed and then WoodCrest would serve as the property manager, mowing the lawn and keeping driveways plowed in the winter.

In 2011, heroin sales in Chautauqua County had been stalled since the breakup of a Jamestown drug ring, according to Sheriff Joseph Gerace. But Gerace did acknowledge that this was only a temporary fix. Operation Bundle Up had put a large heroin ring out of business, but users of the drug were not. “Heroin is extremely addictive, and without it people who are addicted either have to find another source or what we are hoping happens, come to the realization that they need to get into rehab and break the addiction,” he said. “But the desperation can’t be underestimated.”

Of all the services that could be shared between local school districts, course selections may be the most valuable. That was the topic of conversation between Jamestown, Southwestern, Frewsburg and Warren County school districts Thursday night, as school board representatives and superintendents met to decide exactly what services are most worth sharing. As Larry Gauger, Frewsburg Central School District board of education member, sees it, increasing the amount of distance learning that occurs between districts, essentially sharing course selections, makes the most sense for everyone. “Distance learning seems to me to be the most logical place for us to pursue the hardest, to give all of our kids the most that they can get,” Gauger said. “Business offices and those types of venues are great places for us to look, but distance learning benefits all of our students directly.”

In Years Past

In 1941, William E. Jackson, son of Attorney General Robert H. Jackson, told The Jamestown Evening Journal that he now was in favor of aid for Britain. The young man was booed at Chautauqua Institution the previous summer when he said it was not material whether Britain or Hitler won the war. He said now defeat of Britain was a threat to American democracy. The younger Jackson reported to the local draft board for a physical examination. “It is my opinion that the people of America, the great majority of them, today are in favor of conscription and of machine aid to England because of their fear of a world dominated by Hitler,” the younger Jackson said.

At $25 a week, it would take a man more than 1,000 years to earn the amount of money allotted to and spent each year by the Jamestown Public Schools. In 1941, the budget was $1,331,493. Each Tuesday morning, four school board members who comprised the Finance Committee met to consider the district’s financial problems. A discussion of the budget was to appear in the March 26 edition of the Journal.

In 1966, Mayor Fred H. Dunn announced the city would seek state and federal money for a $2.1 million revamping of a major sewer trunk line serving the Chadakoin River valley. The city’s share of the cost would be $840,000. Warren Erickson, R-Ward 6, had been pressing for sewer line improvements for some time and said the trunk line along the river valley installed in the early 1900s was inadequate to serve the needs of an area that had quadrupled in population. The project would install a new line between the eastern city limits and Harding Street, following the same route along the Chadakoin but with a greater capacity.

An early spring snowstorm finally let up, but not before dumping a blanket of snow up to 18 inches in Chautauqua County. Along with the heavy, wet snow, the storm brought chill winds and temperatures as low as 10 degrees.

In 2006, the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena would be the site for another significant figure skating competition in the fall. The North Atlantic Regional Figure Skating Championships would be held at the Third Street arena Oct. 9-14. The event, the first step toward qualifying for the Junior Nationals, was to bring 450 skaters from throughout the Northeast to Jamestown for a week. For Jamestown Skating Academy co-directors Kirk Wyse and Lenel van den Berg, the event is their opportunity to roll out the figurative red carpet yet again. “We take our role as directors very seriously,” van den Berg said. “Part of our unwritten job description at the arena is to get these events. We will continue to do our best to keep delivering.” In the last four years, Wyse, van den Berg and Mary Handley had been the hosts for the regionals (2003), the Junior Nationals (2004) and, now, the regionals again.

Chautauqua County Sheriff Joseph Gerace announced a new program allowing residents to see on the Internet the exact location of local sex offenders who are more likely to be repeat offenders. “The system, called ‘OffenderWatch’, will keep Chautauqua County citizens better informed as to the whereabouts of registered sex offenders,” said Gerace. Residents would also be notified through the postal mail when high-level sex offenders move into a community. According to Gerace, Chautauqua was the second Sheriff’s Department in the state to implement the OffenderWatch software, which is provided by a private company called Watch Systems to over 200 sheriffs in 20 other states. “This is knowledge and knowledge is a powerful tool,” he said.

In 2011, the population in Chautauqua County decreased by 4,845 people during the last 10 years. That is according to the local-level census information for New York state that was released by U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday. The county’s population went from 139,750 in 2000 to 134,905 in 2010, a 3.5 percent decrease. Even though the population in the county dropped, County Executive Greg Edwards said it wasn’t to the level that was projected. “We were projected to lose 4.1 percent of our population and we did not,” he said. “We only lost 3.5 percent. That might not sound like much, but that is significant.”

In Years Past

In 1941, A double lesson of what not to do when calling the fire department happened early in the morning on Barrett Avenue. A fire caused by a backyard bonfire was turned in at the Fenton Place fire station by a man who had a phone in his home and ran past two fire alarm boxes on his way to the station. Fire Chief Rudolph H. Swanson said every person should learn a lesson from the story and possibly avert serious fire damage, injury or death by learning the location of the nearest fire alarm box and observing the number of the fire department on the front cover of the phone book.

A track removal project and street resurfacing costing $100,000 would begin in Jamestown as soon as the weather was favorable. Mayor Leon F. Roberts said the first project would be the removal of the street railway tracks at Main and Third streets. The removal of the maze of tracks would be the major problem in the project.

In 1966, one day after record-high temperatures of 79 degrees, an early spring storm dumped up to 8 inches on parts of Chautauqua County. Temperatures plummeted as much as 45 degrees in 12 hours. By mid-morning, school authorities, acting on the advice of highway department officials, chose to close both Panama Central School and Ashville Elementary School. Roads in the area were described as slushy, gutted and piling up with snow.

The letter written by Abraham Lincoln to Grace Bedell, an 11-year-old Westfield girl who suggested Lincoln grow whiskers so “all the ladies … would tease their husbands to vote for you” brought a record $20,000 at auction. David L. Wolper of Wolper Productions in Hollywood, a documentary film company, was the only bidder at the opening price of $20,000. Autograph dealer Charles Hamilton said it was the largest price ever paid for a letter signed by one person.

In 2006, A grand jury in Dr. Deann Nelson’s misdemeanor case decided not to indict her. Dr. Nelson, a Jamestown Board of Education member, was accused of not allowing school administrator Karen Briner-Peterson to leave her office in an alleged confrontation last November. Joseph Pawelski, Jamestown Board of Education president, said the grand jury decided the charge was not worth trying. He said he could not comment in-depth about the case because it was not a school board issue. In December, the board scheduled a public hearing to discuss nine charges of alleged official misconduct that could lead to Dr. Nelson’s dismissal. The public hearing was canceled when Dr. Nelson recused herself from all board activity until her criminal charge was resolved.

The city’s first step toward authorizing collection of unpaid water and sanitation charges was taken with a tentative local law language to accomplish this objective. The BPU approved the tentative local law to permit such unpaid water and sanitation charges to be placed on the city’s property tax bills. Walter W. Haase, BPU general manager, said such a collection procedure is already being used in the waste water division and makes such properties more valuable in the future.

In 2011, the Peek’n Peak Resort & Spa would have another chance to get part of its Chapter 11 reorganization plan approved by a bankruptcy judge. On March 15, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Randolph Baxter in Northern District (Cleveland) of Ohio denied the resort’s financial disclosure statement, which outlined the resort’s finances. The financial disclosure statement needed to be approved before the resort’s Chapter 11 reorganization plan can be passed. The plan was filed by the resort’s owner, Kiebler Recreation LLC, of Chardon, Ohio, which bought Peek’n Peak in 2006. According to bankruptcy documents, Kiebler was proposing a private equity firm, Drakkar Ventures LLC take over ownership of the resort for five years in exchange for $2.2 million. During that five years, the resort would use its operating revenue and proceeds from the sale of condominiums and other real estate to pay off much of its debt. Any debt not paid off at the end of five years would be paid off with a loan.

Prank phone calls have been occurring possibly since the invention of the device, but calls received recently had terrified many Carroll residents. According to one victim, who wished to remain anonymous, a phone call came in shortly before 11 p.m. Police said they thought the perpetrators of the call were youths who were using cell phones to make the calls.

In Years Past

In 1966, complaints of “coffee breaks” and some other work hour abuses by some Public Works Department personnel were the subject of a closed-door session of the Jamestown City Council held at 9:30 p.m. with department employees. When the meeting convened, Mayor Fred Dunn, as presiding officer, told reporters present there had been a misunderstanding and that contrary to a previous announcement the meeting would be a closed door session and reporters would not be allowed to remain. The meeting had been called on short notice with notice delivered to the homes of council members by police officers. At that time, reporters had been told they would be allowed to stay. Lawrence A. Fletcher, acting public works director, Homer Danielson, parks superintendent, Fred Gustafson, streets superintendent, and more than 40 employees were present.

The Jamestown Planning Commission would decide by June on the type and location of the first urban renewal project in Jamestown. The disclosure came during a Planning Commission meeting during which state officials outlined the state’s position on urban renewal. The commission was in the process of interviewing urban renewal consultants, with a recommendation to the City Council expected by April.

In 2006, Democratic Party requests for a compromise on a revised residential energy tax were not met by the County Legislature and it appeared a new resolution would suffer the same fate as the first. Following a spirited debate, the legislature voted 15-10 to adopt the new plan brought forward by Legislator Chuck Cornell, D-Jamestown. The resolution calls for a reduction of the 4 percent tax with a provision to hold municipalities harmless. Cornell said Republicans made an outright refusal to offer a counter-proposal to help the resolution gain full support and blasted the “wait and see” attitude many took toward the tax. “We know the home heating tax is a regressive tax,” Cornell said. “It hurts the people who can least afford it.”

Busti officials heard testimony from town residents on a proposed noise law at a public hearing. About 50 residents attended the hearing and, if it provided a snapshot of public opinion, then it appears Busti residents generally favored the new law. Common aggravations residents spoke of included barking dogs and engine noise from all-terrain vehicles. “It’s virtually no different than other noise ordinances communities have,” commented Kim Greyber, who said he represented 11 families in the town of Busti. “We’ve become more residential. We have to be civil with one another.” The noise law, which bans any noise over a certain decibel level not listed as an exemption, has been on the table for two years. While addressing residents on the history of the law, Joel Seachrist, town attorney, said it was a series of complaints that started it.

In 2011, parents and community members of the Jamestown Public School District gathered to tell board members to delay their vote on the planned closing of Rogers Elementary School. The pleas came during the district’s board meeting when the floor was opened to comments from those in attendance. “If we have to close a school, I don’t know that Rogers isn’t the best decision,” said John Erickson, a Rogers Elementary School parent. “But I don’t know that because I haven’t been able to see any numbers or information thus far regarding comparisons of closing other schools, so what I’m asking you to do is prove it to me. Prove to me that you have in fact explored other options.” Christine Schnars, board of education president, disagreed with the notion to postpone the decision.

By a 4-3 vote Tuesday, the city Planning Commission agreed the new Appleyard phase 3 development will reasonably pose no adverse impact to the community. However, the commission’s special meeting revisited some prevailing larger concerns, such as caring for the long-term future of the East Second Street housing development as well as the city’s commitment to lead the direction of planned development. Doug Champ said his negative vote for the negative SEQR declaration would be consistent with his disapproval of the site plan brought to the table, and subsequently approved, Feb. 15. Champ said he received numerous comments from concerned residents and he questioned the lack of foresight on the part of developers when seeking federal- and state-subsidized projects. Jeff Nelson said his opinion had crystallized since the time of his earlier vote in favor of the plan. He said the recent legacy of housing projects have had a largely negative impact in the city, and he indicated his support for the new market-based study conducted by Charles Buki from czb LLC.

In Years Past

An East Second Street parking meter was discovered missing when W.C. Whitney was collecting coin boxes from the meters. It was eventually found west of Institute Street in front of the Christian and Missionary Alliance church. The actual money lost was about 25 cents. The meter was valued at $50.

After being asked by Judge Allen Bargar to determine individual guilt in the city’s bingo trial, a jury returned a verdict finding seven operators of the KC Bingo establishment at 310 N. Main St. guilty while seven employees were found innocent. Bargar thanked the jurors for their service, understanding the embarrassment of the work and praising them for their “fearless and honest” discharge of their duty.

Installment-plan pay boosts for Jamestown’s mayor and council members had been proposed. Local Law 1 of 1966 would increase the mayor’s salary from $10,500 to $11,625 in 1968, $12,750 in 1969, $12,750 in 1969, $13,875 in 1970 and $15,000 thereafter. Council members’ pay would increase from $900 a year to $1,075 in 1968 and end up at $1,500 by 1971. An increase in the mayor’s salary had previously been recommended by the Jacobs Survey on municipal pay schedules adopted by the council in July 1965.

James Roberts, the top draft choice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, would begin his professional career in Jamestown. The announcement came from Marty Haines, Jamestown general manager. “Tossing Roberts to us indicates to me the Dodgers are really trying to get a first class club into Jamestown,” he said. Roberts was to report to Dodgertown for spring training within a few days and be on the Jamestown roster to be drilled by Bill Berrier, Jamestown manager. Roberts had bonus offers from the Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds.

Chautauqua County fliers would soon have a new airline along with a new destination Cleveland. The United States Department of Transportation selected RegionsAir to provide essential air service to both the Jamestown and Bradford airports. According to DOT officials, RegionsAir is working with Continental Airlines to operate the service under a code-sharing arrangement. Service will include three round trips each day to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on a 30-passenger Saab 340 aircraft from Jamestown and Bradford, and will have an annual subsidy of $1,649,913. The agreement will last two years. Jamestown will continue having air service no matter who flies out of here, and of course there will be a transition time but there will always be flights out of Jamestown either to Pittsburgh or the new destination in the proposal, said George Spanos, county public facilities director.

In August 1985, developer James Maysharks proposal to build condominiums on Lakeside Drive in Bemus Point was denied by the village Zoning Board. Two of three voting members decided the condominiums might have a detrimental impact on the neighborhood. They also decided Mayshark could profitably pursue the project within present regulations.

Eight men had been charged in a heroin distribution ring which operated in the Jamestown area in a year and a half long investigation titled Operation Bundle Up. To the best of our knowledge, this is the single largest heroin ring ever broken up in Chautauqua County, said Sheriff Joe Gerace. The charges come after an investigation by several police agencies, including the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force offices in Chautauqua County and Cattaraugus County, the Lakewood-Busti Police Department, Ellicott Police Department, Olean Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The Jamestown Interclub Council named Beth Oakes its Woman of the Year for 2010. As the YWCA of Jamestown’s executive director since 2000, Oakes has successfully overseen the completion of the Chadakoin building project and the Main Street renovation project.

In Years Past

“Jamestown and its vicinity must product an exceptionally husky brand of young manhood for it has come to light that of all of the army draft boards in upstate New York, the lowest percentage of rejections for physical defects is held by Board No. 632,” the Journal reported. Only three of the 67 local draftees had been rejected.

The jury in the bingo trial in Jamestown City Court had found all 14 defendants guilty as a group, but were charged by Judge Allen Bargar to return to deliberations to decide individually which defendants were guilty. Bargar ruled the initial verdict was not sufficiently direct. Michael D. Lombardo, attorney for the defendants, ridiculed a statement by police chief G. Harry Nelson that playing bingo was responsible for increase juvenile delinquency in Jamestown and ridiculed a police investigation that took several months when “everyone knew the game was being played.” John M. Barrett, assistant city corporation counsel, argued that the only matter before the jury was if the city was going to have law and order. “You’ve never heard of the chief of police breaking into a private home to stop an innocent game of bingo,” he said. “But when a group of men want to open up a modern Monte Carlo on our main street it’s a different thing.”

Three teen-age boys accused of killing a Greenville, Pa., police officer were arrested after a bullet-punctuated chase by State Police at Warren in Corry. William Fawcett Jr., 15, Edward Fawcett, 13, and Ronald Robert Hardin, 15, all of West Mifflin, Pa., were accused of killing Patrolman Rodney Wentling of Greenville when the officer pulled over their vehicle after it had been reported stolen. State Police in Warren, notified by radio of Wentling’s shooting, spotted the auto approaching a roadblock they had set up about 13 miles east of Corry, giving chase and alerting other area police agencies and firing several shots when the teens failed to stop. The youths were caught and returned to Mercer County.

Panama Central School was working to create a pre-school child development program for the summer months. Two meetings of interested citizens had been held. Any child in the district who would enter kindergarten in September was welcome to enroll. The course would be held in the district’s kindergarten classrooms with bus transportation provided. The program would center around all phases of a child’s health, education, nutrition, speech and play. There would be field trips and parent conferences. It would be paid for under Title 1 of the federal ESEA.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced his upcoming retirement Monday, and it’s a Jamestown native who was a candidate to replace him. Roger Goodell, born in Jamestown on Feb. 19, 1959, is one of two leading candidates to replace the 16-year football chief, The Associated Press reported Monday. According to The Associated Press, Goodell, the NFL’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, had served in a number of different posts in the upper echelons of the NFL, much of it directly under Tagliabue.

Members of the Audit and Control Committee raised concerns about the cost and benefits of a Geographic Information System currently being developed by the county. While members voted to accept $248,000 of funding through the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a database and map layers for private water systems, some asked how much the project will cost when grants run out. I want to see what the costs will be, said Legislator Scot Stutzman, I-Jamestown.

The last errand of Art Thomas’ life was a trip to the printers to deliver the final layout of A Ferry Tale, his comprehensive history of the Bemus Point Stow Ferry. We needed to take the photos, in book layout form. Art picked out his binding and the size text he wanted and showed them how he had organized things, said Sally Carlson, the North Harmony town supervisor who drove Thomas over to Falconer Printing and Design on Monday, March 7.

Whistled for his fifth and disqualifying foul, Jaysean Paige walked slowly off the court at the Glens Falls Civic Center, took a seat on the bench, grabbed a towel and, for a moment, covered his head with it. The greatest season in Jamestown High School basketball history was 30 seconds from completion and the reality had finally set in. Paige was soon joined by the rest of the starters, who received a handshake and an embrace from Coach Ben Drake.

In Years Past

In 1941, aware of a country-wide business upsurge traceable largely to the national defense impetus, Jamestown furniture manufacturers were reported to be looking forward to the best spring furniture market in the history of the local association. New exhibitors had been added from throughout the area. Painters, decorators and lighting experts working on practically every floor attested to the optimism of local manufacturers who would be early bird exhibitors of new spring furniture stylings for all of America.

Home budgeting was a big aid to successful living, according to H.J. Wisehaupt in the last of his talks sponsored by the Jamestown Evening Journal. An audience of 1,500 filled the Jamestown High School auditorium. Wisehaupt said work planning is important. “No man or woman can accomplish anything worthwhile if the working time is not carefully planned so that there can be no waste of either time nor effort. Any man or woman can be successful the minute he or she wills it. All one needs to do is to set one’s mind to it. Mental suggestion is a tremendous power which can be made to do amazing things,” he said.

In 2006, Maynard Cotter had to decide how much longer his 91-employee firm can afford “low-cost” electricity. The vice president/general manager of Ring Precision Components at 2980 Turner Road, Jamestown, a division of Producto Corp. in Bridgeport, Conn., finds himself on the horns of a dilemma. The company began an affiliation in January 1999 with “Power for Jobs,” a state Legislature program designed as an economic development incentive to help spur job retention and job expansion. Ring was eliminated from the program in December 2004 at a time when its monthly savings equaled between $7,500 and $8,000 a month. The reason for the company’s removal was based on its inability to meet the program’s criterion for job expansion, coupled with a decision to enforce the rules strictly despite economic conditions in the state. Early in 2005, Ring petitioned the New York Power Authority to have its Power for Jobs allocation reinstated and in September was informed the restoration had been improved but at a lower level – 250 kilowatts instead of the previous 350 kilowatts. Cotter said Ring’s February 2006 bill was the first to reflect the new Power for Jobs allocation. “I’m holding my breath hoping I can get through these three months and get back to some normal pricing patterns anyways,” Cotter said. “If I had known in advance I was going to pay between $7,000 and $8,000 a month more for this program I never would have signed up for it. Disincentive can eat up prior savings quickly. Manufacturing today is working on a shoestring and not budgeting for unexpected expenses.”

In 2011, after a year of getting to know one another, members of the area Health Care Action Team were talking about specifics. Taking center stage was the physician shortage in the Jamestown area. Dr. Lillian Ney, chair of the action team, said the first phase of relief begins with alleviating some of the costs associated with recruiting firms. She said these private firms can ask for as much as $25,000 if a physician is successfully hired by WCA or other medical organizations. “One of our priorities is to help incentivize that because it is so expensive,” said Dr. Ney. A common application grant, currently requesting aid from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation and a consortium of other sources, would reimburse the recruiter fee cost by 50 percent. Chautauqua County had been designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as both a “health profession shortage area” and as a “medically underserved population.” The mission of the action team, in addition to incentivizing recruitment, was to determine which types of medical services are most needed in the community. Its 12-month goal is to oversee the hiring of eight new physicians. Among the most needed are specialists in orthopedics, ears, nose and throat, and general surgery. Dr. Ney added that the local community has too few primary care physicians, and WCA Hospital is looking for two career medical hospitalists that will help this deficit.

Behind 23 points and 14 rebounds from junior Jaysean Paige, 13 points apiece from seniors Darin Butts and Joey Campion and one of the best defensive efforts in the Ben Drake era, Jamestown knocked off top-ranked and previously unbeaten Christian Brothers Academy of Section 2, 61-56, in overtime in the NYSPHSAA semifinal at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Saturday afternoon. The win vaulted the Red Raiders (20-3) into the state championship game against Mount Vernon of Section 1. “It’s somewhat surreal that we’re here,” Drake said.

In Years Past

In 1941, Bingo went on trial in Jamestown, but as the day waned it appeared improbably that six jurors satisfactory to the 15 defendants charged with violation of the state lottery law would be chosen. A crowd made up of 70 prospective jurors, 14 of the defendants, relatives and friends filled the Jamestown City Council chambers. The chambers were reportedly split between those who were bingo enthusiasts and who felt the game was an “instrument of the devil.”

More than 1,000 people attended the second of three seminars by Howard Wisehaupt sponsored by the Jamestown Evening Journal. Wisehaupt said personality makes for better business and is attained by wanting something so badly the world cannot stop one from attaining it. He said fear and worry were killers of personality, with 97 percent of the things people worried about never to happen and the other three percent impossible anyway. “It takes personality to get money out of people easily and the customer is king and must be treated with respect and understanding,” Wisehaupt said.

In 1966, the James Prendergast Free Library was expected to get full federal aid for its $360,000 expansion, but the federal government was going to change the formula on applications for other library projects. U.S. Rep. Charles Goodell, R-Jamestown, said the application was still in the mill and was at least a week or more away from final action.

Some feared an urban renewal project in Jamestown might be launched too soon. A. Russell Tryon, Jamestown’s planning consultant, opposed recent steps that would have a firm of consultants prepare an application for a specific urban renewal project. Tryon insisted that until a master plan study were more nearly complete, the city would not be able to choose an urban renewal area. Mayor Fred Dunn was pushing for immediate action while Hugh A. Carr Jr., recently appointed Planning Commission chairman, was trying to speed up the process.

In 2006, With the cost of education increasing and state aid decreasing, the Jamestown Public School District was feeling the squeeze between keeping programs and personnel, and pleasing district taxpayers. “Our student achievement is going up while funding is going down,” said Raymond Fashano, district superintendent. “As funding decreases, expectations increase. I feel we are in a vice.” Fashano said the school district needs an increase in flex aid, which is an unrestricted operating aid to pay for items like salaries, fuel, health insurance or pension contributions. Expenses had increased the school district’s spending plan more than $1 million for the 2006-07 school year.

Growing up, Kristen Treni was one of the most accomplished athletes to ever lace up her skates for the Jamestown Skating Academy. Her competitive career was so impressive that her name appears on plaques and photographs of her adorn the walls in the office of JSA co-directors Kirk Wyse and Lenel van den Berg at the Jamestown Savings Bank Ice Arena. Treni was good, and still is. She just wasn’t quite at the competitive level of the skaters the world just got through watching in Torino. But you know what? She could care less. “Just because I wasn’t an Olympian, doesn’t mean I can’t make something out of my career,” said Treni, now 25, during a recent visit to the JSBIA. “There’s so many routes where you can take your skating.”

In 2011, when a local branch is looking to move, the United States Postal Service does not look for a new house until it sells the one it has. Karen Mazurkiewicz, spokesperson for the Western New York district, said the post office is taking it one step at a time as it considers shedding its cumbersome downtown Jamestown site. And while continued service in the city is guaranteed, its future location will not be determined until an estimate of the marketability of its current building is obtained. “We are in fact having the property assessed at the moment,” she said. “For sale signs should be going up pretty quickly, in the next couple weeks.”

When Patty Perlee began work at the Joint Neighborhood Project, she wanted to make a difference in a person’s life. As she prepares for retirement, she knows she met the goal. Mrs. Perlee said she began work with the agency in November 2005, wanting to do something different from the nursing career she had undertaken. After learning about the JNP job opening, she said, she felt it was the right place for her. “This is where I want to be,” she said, adding the agency’s mission is to help a person today and empower them for tomorrow. Mrs. Perlee said she hopes the agency has given people a better understanding of living in poverty, what it means and that people are poor by circumstance and not by choice. “They are like you and I,” she said, adding it is important people who live in poverty have a safe place they can go to, where there needs are met.

In Years Past

In 1941, prospects of rising temperatures bolstered hope of weary county forces as they continued their struggle to keep principal roads open. The plow crews were concentrating their efforts entirely on state roads and fire-lane county roads as the winds whipped up drifts almost as fast as plows cleared a road. The worst conditions were in the north county, but conditions everywhere were a problem.

More than 200 business concerns were represented in the opening night of a lecture series presented by the Jamestown Evening Journal. Howard J. Wisehaupt spoke at Jamestown High School. Wisehaupt said women were the most important business barometer, making 73 percent of all purchases in the United States and 99 percent of all purchases for the home. The series would continue with a discussion of “Personality in Business” and end with a talk titled “How To Earn More Money.”

In 1966, U.S. Rep. Charles Goodell, R-Jamestown, was concerned about uncertainty of student loan programs for the next school year. “Continuation of funds to aid college students across the country is a responsible move which will be welcomed by colleges and parents alike,” Goodell said. President Lyndon Johnson had proposed replacing the student loan program with an insured loan program. The idea was to have local lending institutions make loans to students with the federal government providing insurance that the loans be repaid.

State Assemblyman Jess Present, R-Jamestown, was asking Jamestown officials their thoughts on state legislation to set a minimum wage for police officers and firefighters. The legislation could increase Jamestown’s police and fire wages by more than $170,000.

In 2006, it’s anticlimactic walking into City Hall and being asked if you know who the next police chief will be. “How many people in the city don’t know?” said one City Hall employee Friday. “It’s Rex Rater.” Rater, a Sherman native, first joined the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department in 1971 and was the youngest officer in that department’s history to be promoted to sergeant in 1975. As a sergeant, lieutenant and captain with the Sheriff’s department, Rater was the first full-time narcotics officer, the first trained helicopter pilot, a member of the Sheriff’s first SWAT Team and team leader for eight years. He alternatively commanded the road patrol, emergency dispatch, court security and school resource officer programs. As undersheriff appointed in 2005, Rater has directly assisted in forming the county police agency’s $18 million budget.

Two Jamestown men who were convicted last year of killing a Jamestown man were found guilty in federal court for marijuana trafficking, while two others were found not guilty. According to drug prosecutor Thomas S. Duszkiewicz with the U.S. Department of Justice, Aaron Pike, 28, was found guilty Friday to drug conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise. He was facing life behind bars. Gregory Pattison, 34, was found guilty to drug conspiracy and was facing a maximum of 30 years in federal prison. Both Pattison and Pike were awaiting sentencing in county court for a double murder homicide in 2001 in Gerry. Pattison had been found guilty for killing Richard Alicea Jr. and Johnny T. Houston.

In 2011, the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities was still working to secure the future of power generation in Jamestown even though the fate of a proposed $145 million clean coal project was still in limbo. David Leathers, BPU general manager, said although its current coal generation is sunsetting, the BPU could access its natural gas turbine and its district heat division is outfitted with a new hot water generator.

More than 100 school districts throughout New York state did not have enough reserves to offset Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed $1.5 billion (7.3 percent) cut to the state’s education budget, according to a study by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. According to DiNapoli, most districts do have the reserves to cover their share of the of proposed cuts – though only for one year. “Most districts have big enough reserves to cover the proposed cuts for one year,” DiNapoli said. “But after that, the reserves would be gone and without other actions, the expenses would still need to be addressed. And more than 100 districts across the state don’t have enough reserves for even one year.”

In Years Past

In 1966, Republicans made significant inroads into key areas formerly held by Democrats in village elections throughout Chautauqua County. Marking a major GOP comeback was the election of John R. Miller and Charles E. Beckstrand as Lakewood village trustees, breaking the 100 percent dominance of Democrats in the village.

Sen. Simon Liebowitz, D-Brooklyn, was still trying to win the state Legislature’s approval of a plan to require annual safety inspections of all vehicles registered in New York state. A bill broadening the present inspection program to take in all cars regardless of age was defeated in the Senate. About 2.5 million owners of late-model cars would be affected by the plan. The law had required inspection only if a vehicle was four or more years old or when a used car was resold. Inspections would cost $1.50.

In 2006, a police chief in Suffolk County should be able to one day pick up a radio and speak with a sheriff’s deputy in Chautauqua County. The ability to communicate between different departments and across county lines is a goal the state is trying to achieve within the next four years – and Chautauqua County was leading the way. At a Public Safety Committee meeting Monday, Sheriff Joseph Gerace told committee members Chautauqua County will be one of the first to be integrated onto the communication system. “By mid-summer 2007 we’d like to be fully integrated onto the system,” Gerace said. “Once we get onto the system we’ll all be able to talk to each other. I could literally talk to a police chief in Nassau County on my portable.” In the mid-1990s, the county looked at upgrading its own radio system to move toward full communication between entities, known as interoperability. After the state made it know it would push for statewide interoperability, the county backed off its own efforts and waited. The system would allow all agencies using radios – from paramedics to school buses – to communicate with each other.

If Mary Jane Smith had learned anything about tax reassessments, it’s that governments raise taxes – assessments make them fair. “I learned that the next time the school budget comes up, I’ve got to speak out and vote on it,” Mrs. Smith said, “the same for the city and the county.” “Generally, the taxes are too much,” said Mrs. Smith’s husband, Warren. “I wouldn’t want to be in city hall or on the school board. Who are you going to step on?” The couple, who lived on Livingston Avenue, Jamestown, attended the last of four educational sessions held jointly with GAR Associates and the City Assessor’s office at the Prendergast Library.

In 2011, environmental concerns emanating from operations at the West Valley Demonstration Project differ from those being dealt with in Japan, report area officials. While all eyes are turned on nuclear energy and dangers surrounding it after an earthquake and tsunami in Japan, officials at the West Valley Demonstration Project are alerting area residents the situation is not the same here, despite having a nuclear facility in the area. “It’s apples and oranges,” said John Chamberlain, technical adviser for West Valley Environmental Services. Despite the commonality of both facilities in Japan and West Valley dealing with radioactive material, there is no comparison between them, he said. Chamberlain said there is no reactor at West Valley, so there is no high-pressure system operating to cause explosion concerns, as is the case in Japan.

Plans to construct a third residence hall on the campus of Jamestown Community College continued to develop, as during the college’s board of trustees meeting Tuesday it was announced that the designing stage of the new hall is nearly complete. Currently, the JCC Development Corporation is working to finalize financial arrangements for construction of the hall, and the group said it is doing extensive work to get local lenders involved as the construction phase nears. According to Nelson Garifi, director of marketing and academic initiatives at JCC, the two residence halls on campus served 110 students each since their opening in the fall of 2008. Garifi added that demand for residency accommodations has exceeded capacity almost every semester since they opened, and that current halls are expected to be filled for the 2011-12 school year by the earliest point to date.

In Years Past

In 2006, The call came in at 1:18 p.m. Wednesday – a report of an unknown red substance in a runoff stream in the West Ellicott-Lakewood area. By 1:30 p.m., the stream had turned rust red, offering a dramatic sight as the water crossed beneath Lakeside Boulevard and wound its way the last 50 feet into Chautauqua Lake. Celoron Fire Department officials were the first on scene, immediately calling the county HAZMAT team for assistance. “We hope it’s not toxic!” exclaimed one responder amid the bustle of activity along Lakeside Boulevard while HAZMAT officials tried to ascertain whether the unknown substance was hazardous in nature. “The original call was of an unknown red substance in a waterway leading to Chautauqua Lake,” said Bryce Webster, HAZMAT operations manager. “We did some sampling and found out it was a water-soluble-based dye.” Officials tracked the flow to the Southwestern Central School District grounds a half mile away. “It’s no public health risk whatsoever,” Webster said. “It’s no problem with anything. It’s no worse than sewer dye.”

Jamestown area employers expected to hire at a brisk pace during the second quarter of 2006, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. From April to June, 37 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while the remaining 63 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels, according to Tom Winner, Manpower spokesman. “In the Jamestown area, employers expect less hiring activity than in the first quarter, when 43 percent of the companies interviewed intended to increase head count and none planned to decrease it,” Winner said. “Employers are much more optimistic about hiring than they were a year ago when 17 percent of companies surveyed thought employment increases were likely and 3 percent intended to cut back.”

In 2011, Some of the recent work of Habiterra Architects was put on display as a pair of organizations presented site plans to the city Planning Commission on Tuesday. Tom Holt, president and chief executive officer of Lutheran Social Services, provided a rationale for the newest expansion of the LSS campus. “The goal of this project, in addition to its apartment function, will be an incubator for these new technologies,” he said. “With a number of independent housing units that we already operate in the community, we will then be able to take a suitcase of these technologies, if you will, and move them out into the community with the goal of keeping people in their homes longer than they are currently able to do.” Holt added that the recent development at LSS originates with the state Department of Health’s grant Health Efficiency and Affordability Law. He said the funding permits the closure of its hospital bed facilities and enables the creation of alternative services. LSS has removed 80 high skilled nursing beds and 46 assisted living units have taken their place. With the addition of 14 new apartments, Holt said there will be an effort to remove another 26 high care beds out of service. These adjustments are started to reflect consumer demand.

The village of Panama was preparing for its 150th anniversary on March 21, 2011. The sesquicentennial anniversary celebration will feature a color guard with the United States’ 33-star flag, proclamations from both the state Legislature and Chautauqua County Legislature, remarks from Michelle Henry, Chautauqua County historian, a recognition of village officials, a historic exhibit and birthday cake. “It’s remarkable,” said Pam Brown, the village’s historian, who said the village has lasted such a long time. She said there do not seem to be a lot of changes, however, adding the municipality has become more residential. “It’s a great place to live,” she said, adding those residents are friendly, hardworking people, who help one another. “We want to celebrate a milestone,” she said, adding something has been planned monthly during the year to make people aware of the village’s history. A community day will be held, a historical marker dedicated, a history fair will take place at the school and James H. McGraw IV will visit when the school library will be dedicated. Ms. Brown said the library was originally dedicated James McGraw of McGraw Hill Publishing, who was once a town resident. The library was then moved due to construction.

In Years Past

The front of the Italian-Greek batlteground in Albania was extended to Jamestown. John Alley, 40, and Joe Sotir, both of the Allen Square building, had an altercation in which Sotir allegedly came off second-best. Both men were natives of Albania. Sotir was a Greek Orthodox faith while Alley was a Mohemmadan. Apparently, their opinions on the conflict raging between the Italians and the Greeks were as far apart as their religious views. They were washing at a community wash basin when the fight began.

A full-page advertisement in The Jamestown Evening Journal stated there was a serious housing problem in Jamestown … notably that the 1940 U.S. Census reported only 465 vacant housing units among the city’s 13,765 dwelling units. That 3.4 percent vacancy rate was much lower than the state’s 7.3 percent rate.

Four complaints were received by the Celoron Village Board at its meeting, including one concerning the speed of Erie-Lackawanna trains through the community. Zuhr Faulkner, who served as a village trustee in the 1930s, said trains were passing through the village so fast they were shaking houses. Faulkner said the former train speed limit was 35 miles an hour, and board members aid they would contact railroad officials to see if there had been any change.

Jamestown’s Parks Committee authorized design of a $50,000 community recreation building for Allen Park. Warren Howard of Howard and Domenici, presented plans of a structure that would accommodate persons using the skating rink during the winter and other times of the year. Half of the floor area would be equipped with benches for patrons, with the rest of the space including a U-shaped snack bar, skate rental area, public toilets, heating and utility room. Inclined ramps with railings would connect the building with the ice rink.

Local hospital officials weren’t worried about a state commission closing any area hospitals or nursing homes. They were concerned, however, about receiving the resources they need to do their job. Betsy Wright, chief executive officer at WCA Hospital, said hospital closings and a significant reconfiguration of services statewide was expected.

When Bob Allison retired and moved to Lakeside Drive in Ellery, it was partly because of the beautiful natural view he had of Chautauqua Lake. Now that view may be interrupted by what appears to be needed hotel development. Directly across from Allisons home, John McGraw of Warren was proposing to construct a $19 million hotel.

County Republicans had questions regarding a proposal put forth by Maria Kindberg, D-Jamestown, for the legislature’s committees to list and prioritize all county services in advance of the body’s 2012 budget process. The proposal failed to pass the Administrative Services Committee on Monday, and instead was tabled by the committee’s three Republican members – Committee Chairman and Majority Leader Larry Barmore, R-Gerry; John Runkle, R-Stockton, and Bob Scudder, R-Fredonia. Both Democrats on the committee, Jamestown legislators Lori Cornell and Paula DeJoy, opposed tabling the resolution.

With the water contract between the town of Busti and the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities set to expire in the fall, town officials were looking into other options. On Monday during the Busti Town Board meeting, town officials went into executive session to discuss its water contract with the BPU. Kathleen Sullivan, Busti supervisor, said the contract was set to expire in October.

In Years Past

Stanley W. Brandel, Marlin-Rockwell superintendent, was on the witness stand as a National Labor Relations Board hearing on unfair labor practices continued. Several workers who had been laid off during a slack period a few years ago claimed they had not been rehired because of membership in Local 338 of the United Automobile Workers of America. Brandel said the replacements were more efficient than the former workers, who he said slowed up production. One of the employees lack ability to do a good job, was unable to do anything well and couldn’t keep up with his work. Other people were not rehired because of a rule prohibiting employment of married women. Another employee had been hired and fired by the company five times, had inconsistent work and a bad record for tardiness.

The Mayville Methodist Church was destroyed by fire. Mayville and Chautauqua firemen prevented the fire from spreading to nearby dwellings. All that was left standing after the fire was the front wall of the church, the bell tower and the front portions of the two side walls. This part of the church had been built in 1853. The church would meet in the Odd Fellows’ Hall in Mayville until a new structure was built.

Gus Nestle, manager of the Winter Garden Theater, announced the upcoming showing of “The Sound of Music” starring Julie Andrews. Nestle said there had been more requests for the movie than any other picture in many years. The film would be shown in Jamestown on a reserved seat basis with mail orders being accepted.

Panama scored its fifth Class C basketball championship in eight years – though its first under the direction of coach Ron Schrecengost, who was replacing Jim McElrath as Panama’s head coach. After the game, Schrecengost was pictured in a Post-Journal photo with wet trousers after he was thrown into the showers moments after his team’s victory over Sherman. Somebody in the Panama organization had anticipated the victory, however, and Schrecengost had made sure to bring a second pair of pants to the game.

Rex Tolman, of Tolman Engineering, spoke with Lakewood officials at Monday’s Village Board meeting about the upcoming project to remove sediment buildup from Chautauqua Lake. He estimates 10,000-cubic yards of sediment and debris that had been accumulating at the mouth of the Crescent Street Canal will be removed over a period of four days.

Almost unnoticeable, wavily transparent smoke is the most anyone sees these days from the Samuel A. Carlson Generating station on Steele Street. In that exhaust every year tons of sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxides and cardon dioxide were spewed. Jim Slack, the Board of Public Utility’s consultant from ENSR, told city council members a new power plant for the city would reduce the first two emissions by 90 percent and carbon emissions 24 percent over what’s already going into the atmosphere.

Exterior work may have been silenced from the fallen snow, however the interior of the Erie Lackawanna Train Depot was a hive of activity. After years of planning and nearly 12 months of on-site work, the future of the former Jamestown landmark is becoming clear. According to those involved in its restoration, the finished product will be a marriage of historic accuracy with modern amenities and utilities to serve commercial tenants and the public. We are looking at the completion of the depot by July 1, said Lee Harkness, coordinator of the project’s funding at the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation. He estimated the project was about 60 percent completed.

In Years Past

In 1941, a measure introduced in the state Legislature by Assemblyman E. Herman Magnuson would limit muskie catches and enact other efforts being advanced by the Chautauqua Lake Fish Council. In Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties other than Lake Erie, people could not catch and possess more than one muskie not less than 32 inches long and more than three people fishing from a boat could not take more than three muskie from July 1 to Oct. 15. There were also limits on how people could fish for muskie.

Production at the Jamestown Table Company plant in Salamanca was moving into second gear, according to Robert L. Taylor, company vice president. The company had already hired 100 of the 200 people to staff the plant and plans were underway for a venter department and two dry kilns. The first shipment of furniture made entirely at the plant was trucked Saturday to New York City and Cleveland. The Jamestown plant was not being moved and was operating as usual.

In 2006, Chautauqua County covers 1,065 square miles – that will never change. It has about 140,000 residents – that likely will. For every 5,600-or-so residents, there is one county legislator – that should not change, legislators said. The idea of reducing the legislature, one which has been considered and debated, introduced and voted down in the past decade, is re-emerging. A committee consisting of eight members is in the midst of evaluating whether the 25-member legislature should be reduced as well as whether to continue health benefits and how long terms should be. “That’s foolish,” said Legislator Joe Trusso, D-Jamestown. “Reducing it would create a full-time legislature and will cost a lot more than having 25 people. You’d have to have offices and secretaries. The way I do it now, my assistant is my wife.”

Local judicial, health and law enforcement officials were doing a little more than kicking around the idea of setting up a mental health court in Chautauqua County. More than a dozen leaders and representatives of various organizations and entities – members of the Mental Health Court Action Committee of Chautauqua County – met Tuesday at the Robert H. Jackson Center. No one can say for sure whether the initiative, spearheaded by officials from Chautauqua County’s National Alliance for the Mentally Ill chapter, will end successfully with the establishment of a mental health court. “We are very satisfied,” said Sylvia Trusso, NAMI chapter president. “Change is difficult, but everyone came with an open mind.”

In 2011, Overlooking the streets of downtown Jamestown, the view from above is improving. More upper-floor vacancies are being converted into apartments and leasable commercial space. However, the pace of success is less than that of its ground-floor counterparts. In a recent survey conducted by Lee Harkness, executive director of the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation, he reported that only 132 of 289 upper floors were occupied. Downstairs, the storefront vacancy rate was 13 percent. “We are drawing people downtown to live. Right now, we have seven apartments that are full, said Jeff Erickson, facilities director for the Reg Lenna Civic Center. “People say there’s nothing downtown – well, there’s people that live down here.

The playoff road began in Jamestown, required a couple stops in Buffalo and continued east on Interstate 90 to the Flower City. But the Jamestown Red Raiders weren’t done with bus trips just yet. Next on their itinerary? Glens Falls. “It’s hard to put into words,” Jamestown coach Ben Drake said. Sparked by two huge 3-pointers by junior Jaysean Paige and senior Joey Campion in the closing minutes and a defensive stand for the ages in the final 20 seconds, the Red Raiders stamped their ticket for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Final Four with a heart-stopping, 60-58, overtime victory over Irondequoit in the Class AA Far West Regional at the Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester Community War Memorial on Saturday night. Jamestown would meet CBA of Albany, marking the first time in school history that a boys team has advanced that far. “We’ve come close a few other times and we’ve never been able to get over the hump,” Drake said. “Winning in AA and going to Glens Falls is a tough thing to do.”

In Years Past

In 1941, William E. Jackson of Jamestown, son of Attorney General Robert H. Jackson, won the $100 DeForest Medal of Yale University in English composition and declamation. Jackson was in his senior year at Yale.

Virtual elimination of Regents exams in junior high schools and substitution of a junior high school certificate upon completion of ninth grade was discussed by the Jamestown Public Schools Board of Education. Hugh L. Gillis, assistant superintendent, said the certificates would be issued in June and was being done with full sanction by the state Education Department. Many regents had been eliminated in senior high school as well. Standards weren’t being lowered, school officials said, but the district’s curriculum provided more comprehensive coverage of several subjects. Courses were approved by the state Education Department and the examination marks received full Regents credit.

In 1966, the town of Ripley was beginning its sesquicentennial celebration. The town turned 150 years old on March 1. The observance began with a town banquet sponsored by the Literary Club at which pioneer families were honored and the town historian gave a historical sketch of the town. Charles Conley and Harold Borden were the oldest natives present. The main celebration would fall the week of July 4.

Chautauqua County took two more steps toward possible implementation of a Chautauqua Lake-Chadakoin River watershed, including one authorizing a $25,000 study. County officials were trying to prevent flooding along lake shore and Chadakoin river industrial properties, stop sediment damaging roads and bridges and possibly contributing to aquatic weed growth, install and operate watershed management programs, acquire land for additional public parks and recreational facilities, develop a water supply to maintain the lake level and a minimum flow below the Warner Dam and, finally, to help coordinate water systems, sanitary facilities, storm drains and access roads.

In 2006, Zero was no longer a number area residents had to worry about the thermometer dipping below, but zero was a number that concerned the Chautauqua County School Boards Association. Zero was the number of people who attended the group’s orientation for prospective new school board members at Chautauqua Lake Central School. Charles Pegan, CCSBA executive director, said taxes were one major reason new people do run for school boards and that it’s an issue again this year. “We want to attract people to serve on their local school board who feel they can make a difference instead of giving up and ring their hands and asking what can they do,” he said.

A continued crackdown on drug trafficking in Chautauqua County led to an increase in arrests. Under the direction of Lt. John Runkle, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s deputy in charge of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force headquartered in Jamestown, this crackdown and subsequent arrests had increased over the past two years. According to annual reports filed for 2004 and 2005, the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force handled 1,046 cases in 2004 with this number increasing to 1,240 in 2005. The arrest rate rose to 160 in 2005, compared to 122 for the previous year. Multiple charges were placed against those arrested. When asked if the arrests involved repeat offenders, Runkle said they did.

In 2011, though at least some of the county’s 50-plus maple producers had already made syrup this month, a ceremonial tree-tapping officially began the 2011 maple season in Chautauqua County. Assemblyman Andy Goodell was assisted by MRC Farms co-owner Ken Morley in driving a tap into a tree just outside the maple producer’s sugarhouse on Water Street in Sinclairville. The ceremonial event took place at the conclusion of Chautauqua Maple Promotion Day, an event designed to promote and raise awareness about the maple industry in the county.

Japan’s northeastern coast was a swampy wasteland of broken houses, overturned cars, sludge and dirty water Saturday as the nation awoke to the devastating aftermath of one of its greatest disasters, a powerful tsunami created by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. The death toll from Friday’s massive magnitude 8.9 quake stood at more than 200, but an untold number of bodies were believed to be lying in the rubble and debris, and Japanese were bracing for more bad news as authorities tried to reach the hardest-hit areas. Aerial footage showed military helicopters lifting people on rescue tethers from rooftops and partially submerged buildings surrounded by water and debris. At one school, a large white “SOS” had been spelled out in English.

In Years Past

In 1941, Jamestown’s business indicators continued to increase during the first two months of 1941, according to Charles Laycock, Chamber of Commerce secretary. The sharpest increases were in building permits with a 386 percent increase in the estimated cost of work and in new passenger car registrations, which increased 92 percent. An all-time high had also been reached in use of telephones, according to the Jamestown Telephone Corporation. At the opening of business on March 11, Leon Roberts. commercial manager, said 10,846 stations were in use, five more than the previous peak in June 1930. At that time the economic depression caused telephone use to decline for five years to 8,245 in the Jamestown area.

Henry Ford was envisioning a day “only several years off” when a farmer would grow most of the materials going into a motor car and perhaps provide the fuel from plants as well. “We’ll have an experimental body ready at our plant in a month or so made chiefly of plastics from cellulose fibers easily grown,” Ford told The Associated Press. Ford said it was known that, if necessary, “we can produce satisfactory fuels for engines from potatoes, corn, rice and other farm products.”

In 1966, proposed construction of an Art Metal Inc. plant in Busti was driving increased interest in the proposed Chautauqua Mall project, according to the president of Galesi Realty Co. Inc. of Paterson, N.J. Francesco Galesi said there had been several inquiries into the firm’s office concerning the project from possible tenants in New York City, Buffalo, Erie and Jamestown. He cited the Art Metal project as a major factor “for the exceptional interest shown by dozens of tenant applicants.”

The 1966 Eastern Quarter Horse Futurity would be run at the new Cockaigne Downs on Oct. 15, according to Harry Hurd, track manager. Quarter horse racing made its debut in 1965 and made quite a hit with area horse racing buffs. The race would have an eight-horse field with qualifiers from an estimated 100 animals expected to be brought to Cherry Creek for the meet, which covered 136 races during September and October. Cockaigne’s track, the first in New York to be sanctioned by the American Quarter Horse Association, was part of the 2,100 recreational development that included skiing, holiday home sites, summer riding programs and plans for year-round activities.

In 2006, In the wake of sex scandals in the Chautauqua Lake and Jamestown school districts, area school officials were discussing how they prevent such situations. Dr. Howard Ferguson, Sherman superintendent, said state law mandates all new teachers go through a mentoring program with a tenure teacher. “During the mentoring process, we talk about student and peer relationships with teachers,” he said. “Our staff and faculty shows the necessary respect toward students to give quality instruction.” Ferguson said he couldn’t speak for other school districts, but at Sherman their was plenty of supervision that led to “excellent” interaction between staff and students. “Our staff and faculty is very disciplined and possess good classroom control,” he said. “Our staff and faculty shows the necessary respect toward students that is needed for learning.”

As details of the state’s purchase of the Midway Park were being finalized, state Sen. Cathy Young, R-Olean, had drawn up legislation requiring the state to make a payment in lieu of taxes to Ellery and Chautauqua County. Young said the bill would amend the public lands law and provide state aid to the town and county as well as the Bemus Point School District. She forwarded a copy to Assemblyman Bill Parment, D-North Harmony, to be introduced in the state Assembly.

In 2011, the only candidate on the ballot to be Lakewood’s next mayor had mixed feelings about possibly being elected. David Wordelmann, village trustee, is the Republican candidate and the only name on Tuesday’s village election ballot for mayor. Wordelmann was selected by the village Republican Caucus’ Committee to Fill Vacancies to replace the deceased Anthony Caprino, who passed away on March 4. Wordelmann who has been a village trustee since 2005, said being mayor is something he has always had an interest in, but not under these conditions.

A city man was taken into custody Thursday in connection to the burglary of a local business, the Jamestown Police Department reported. The investigation into the burglary of the U.S. News Store at 712 Foote Ave., Southside Plaza on Wednesday led to the charges.

In Years Past

In 1941, a fugitive murderer was caught by state troopers on a farm in Conewango Valley around 3 a.m. Claude Burdette Blood escaped Aug. 21, 1939, from a prison farm at London, Ohio, where he had been serving a life sentence for killing a policeman. He had been employed at the farm since December. The arrest followed an intensive search that centered in Jamestown for several days and reached Conewango Valley when leads developed that Blood was working at the farm. Blood told officers he went to California following his escape but returned east when homesickness got the best of him.

Mayor Leon Roberts was giving his attention to complaints that garbage and rubbish collection was lax. “A large number of such complaints have been received at City Hall within recent weeks,” Roberts said, “and I am determined to see that something is done about the charge of lax collection methods employed by the company which has a contract with the city for such work.”

In 1966, heart disease ranked as the principal cause of the 165 deaths in Chautauqua County in January, according to the first monthly report compiled on deaths by the county Health Department. The report showed 77 of the deaths attributed to heart disease with 36 caused by strokes; 15 by pneumonia; 14 from cancer; and the remainder from a variety of causes. There were 212 births in January.

The Jamestown Municipal Airport Commission planned to submit a grant application to the Federal Aviation Administration to help pay for future airport developments that could include construction of taxiways and additional lighting. Peter Kote, commission chairman, said he sent letters to Allegheny and Mohawk Airlines requesting additional service to Jamestown, particularly with scheduled runs to and from Pittsburgh and points south of the city.

In 2006, Area maple syrup producers were concerned the weather could affect flow of the sap essential to their product. Making the finished item requires a good supply of thin sweet liquid that contains about 2 percent sugar content and is reduced by the application of heat to create a thicker liquid with a sugar content of about 66 percent. Sap production requires a combination of freezing nights and thawing days, a duo the weatherman does not see as very likely in the next several days. Linda Fairbanks, whose husband, Douglas, makes maple syrup on the Putnam Road, Forestville, said Wednesday they are among those concerned about what she termed “the scary weather report” with no freezing weather in the forecast. She said that as of Wednesday, her husband had made about 100 gallons of syrup. Only a very few area syrup producers took advantage of an early sap run well ahead of the usual starting date for the seasonal industry.

Residents of Bemus Point and the town of Ellery had reason to celebrate. Exactly 200 years ago to the day, William Bemus, founder of Bemus Point, first arrived at the site of the lakeside village. “He made it as far as Westfield,” said Neil Robinson, Bemus Point Historical Society president. Then, Robinson added, Bemus and his family trekked across the frozen lake, setting up shop in present-day Bemus Point. Bemus set up a tavern and a grist mill, and the second settlers followed two weeks later – the family of Jeremiah Griffith. To celebrate the anniversary of Bemus’ arrival, Robinson led a group of town and village residents from outside the fire hall to the cemetery where Bemus is buried. The anniversary entourage then headed over to Hare ‘n Hounds Inn for dinner. Robinson served as master of ceremonies, introducing local leaders and society members, who delivered remarks, historical tales and anecdotes.

In 2011, a Jamestown man was charged with multiple counts of burglary after officers took him into custody during a burglary in progress Wednesday. Jamestown police officers responded to a reported burglary in progress at 23 Barrows St. When they arrived they allegedly found the man inside the first apartment in the house, having forced his way into the house and shattering a glass window in the presence of a 14-year-old girl.

Much of the Dahlstrom complex would meet a graceful end in 2011, according to city Director of Development Steve Centi. “You’re going to see the wrecking ball swing over the course of the next few months,” he said, adding that the city has been pulling the project together for a number of years in collaboration with the current owners of the property and a host of state and federal agencies. The new proposal will eliminate the long storeroom along Buffalo Street, which suspended over the Chadakoin River, in addition to some of the substandard buildings that line the banks. The removal of the sections in disrepair and older wood frame and steel storehouses should clear up the site and improve the location for its current tenants, he said.

In Years Past

In 1966, the Jamestown Planning Commission approved a zoning change to allow construction of a $250,000 “garden-type” apartment complex on Lakeview Avenue. Cosima Realty was proposing a three-building, 24-unit apartment complex on an inner block property it owned on Lakeview Avenue between Bassett Street and Newton Avenue. The only street frontage of the property would be on Lakeview Avenue. Inside, the property would be lined by Bassett Street, Newton and Prendergast avenues.

Lakewood Republicans were attacking the present Democratic Party administration for what they said was failure to correct community sewage problems. Charles Beckstrand told attending a coffee party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood Caldwell that at the pace the present sewage improvement was taking, the village would need more than 70 years to complete replacement of the village’s sewer lines. Also discussed was the need for improved recreational programs.

In 2006, what was in the Arcade Building was a looking glass for Donna Morse’s dreams. Some saw a leaking skylight where Ms. Morse sees a window on history. Where others see rotting woodwork, she sees dance floors. Through the windows out front, many Jamestowners see a gray, dirty town. Ms. Morse sees home. “The excitement from the community made my heart tremble,” she said. “Almost a heart attack.” Ms. Morse had been the official owner of the Main Street landmark now for nearly eight weeks. For seven of those weeks, she’s been in the city getting settled into her home on the city’s south side and getting acquainted with neighbors. She and Jaqueline Sinton, her partner, planned to open an educational center in Jamestown – the DMM Educational Center, to be exact. “I have been an educator for 27 years,” Ms. Morse said. “I decided it was time I developed this center to share the way the way I know children learn best.” As for financing, Ms. Morse intends to refurbish the Arcade’s three store fronts with three shops offering goods also sold through a catalogue business she owns – natural beauty and health supplies, a cyber cafe and what sounds like a home decor and furnishings shop.

While state and county boards of elections didn’t want to rush into any drastic changes regarding new voting machines, the federal government might have other ideas. The state was facing a possible lawsuit from the federal government regarding compliance with the 2000 Help America Vote Act which requires the selection of new voting machines to replace lever action ones currently used. Norm Green, Chautauqua County Democrat election commissioner, said if the federal government wins the lawsuit it could mean new machines for November’s election. He just hopes there’s more time than that. “It’s a hope by all sides that some kind of compromise can be reached,” Green said. “From a local board’s perspective, the shorter we have to get our job done, the harder it’s going to be.”

In 2011, Daniel Kathman, Jamestown Public School superintendent, unveiled the second draft of the district’s 2011-12 budget to the JPS board of education on Tuesday night. Board members were not the only ones present, however, as an auditorium full of district residents and employees came to hear Kathman’s proposal, voice their concerns, and in some cases, defend their jobs. Not many changes were made to the $73.7 million budget since it was first presented to the board on Feb. 15, although notable changes include the elimination of the district’s middle school football program, in an effort to continue staffing several high school-level assistant coaching positions – a move recommended by Ben Drake, district athletic director. Specifically, Kathman proposed eliminating the equivalent of 52 full-time positions throughout the district, which equates to $2.4 million in savings from eliminated salaries. It was proposed that the other $1.1 million be closed by way of program eliminations, like the middle school football program and the Suzuki Strings program.

County legislators should ready themselves now for the cuts which will likely have to be made in the coming budget process. That’s the thought behind a new proposal from Maria Kindberg, D-Jamestown. Specifically, Kindberg wanted the legislature’s six standing committees to list and prioritize county services. Kindberg said the intention of the legislation is to prepare lawmakers for which services, in specific, might be the most realistic to cut. “We will be able to move into the budget process with a very clear idea of what we believe are the highest-priority services that we provide to the citizens of Chautauqua County,” Kindberg had previously said of her proposal.

In Years Past

Industrial power sales in Jamestown were 19 percent ahead of the pace set in 1940, according to Municipal Electric system officials. Gains in residential sales increased 6 percent and mercantile sales increased 5 percent. The entire production of the local plant was 8.13 percent higher than in 1940 and was the highest February production in the plant’s history.

Hope that mail service from Washington to Jamestown and New York City to Jamestown was held out by George Hilliard, commissioner of the Jamestown Transportation Department of the Chamber of Commerce. Considerable work remained before improvement was possible, Hilliard said. Some minor improvement had already been accomplished, with the arrival of overnight mail from the capitol moved ahead about one hour by routing the mail leaving buffalo in the evening through Buffalo. Previously Jamestown mail from Washington had been dumped in Olean and waited for pickup on an Erie train arriving shortly after noon.

A Lakewood couple, after 14 months of making the rounds of village officials with a complaint of a faulty sewer line on their property, suggested the village board “resign en masse.” Jack F. McIntyre of 135 S. Erie St., Lakewood, had filed a negligence claim against the village that had not yet been settled. McIntyre began having trouble with a sewer line backing up and flooding his home and property in June 1965. Work to fix the problem was to begin in January 1966 but had not started. Village officials said the work was delayed by the high level in the line. “I would like to suggest that you resign en masse and allow the people of this village to elect a responsible board to safeguard and protect the individual citizens of this community,” McIntyre said.

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities purchased two tracts of land in Poland to augment land the utility owned in the Dry Brook-Poland Center area where the utility was developing a new well field to supplement the present Cassadaga Valley wells. The $3.5 million program was aimed at doubling the city’s water supply and storage capability.

Ellicott Town Board members accepted a $14,880 bid from Tolman Engineering at Monday’s meeting to construct a pump station on School Avenue in West Ellicott. There have been a lot of complaints from people out there, said Mike Erlandson, town clerk. According to Robert Heintzelman, town board member, homeowners in that area experienced low water pressure, notably in shower heads. It also affected fire hydrants, limiting hydrant coverage in that area. That’s dangerous, said Thomas Geisler, town board member. That’s just plain not safe.

More children were getting free or reduced-price breakfast at school, but still only two-in-five youngsters who need it are signed up for the program, according to an anti-hunger group. Between March 6 and March 10, is National School Breakfast Week an event designed to raise awareness about the School Breakfast Program. In 2005, New York schools served 3.9 percent more free and reduced-price breakfasts than in 2004, but it still meant that only 37 percent of low-income students who ate lunch at schools also eat school breakfast. In contrast, the five top-performing states served school breakfast to 55 percent who ate school lunch.

An armed home invasion over the weekend had city police asking the community for help. The Jamestown Police Department was seeking assistance identifying two suspects connected to a burglary Saturday afternoon. According to the department, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to 121 Van Buren St. for a reported burglary. Captain Robert Samuelson of the Jamestown Police Department said that the resident of the home returned from a short outing to find two people within the house.

With the passing of Lakewood Mayor Anthony Caprino on Friday, a new candidate for next Tuesday’s village election has been named. David Wordelmann, Lakewood village trustee, was selected Saturday by the Lakewood Republican CaucusCommittee to Fill Vacancies to run for mayor during the village’s election March 15. Brian Abram, county Republican election commissioner, said everything else on the ballot is the same, but Wordelmann would now be running for mayor.

In Years Past

U.S. Rep. Daniel Reed, R-Dunkirk, was becoming the spearhead of an attack by House Republicans on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s foreign policy which, it was charged, was letting raw materials and food get to Germany through economic rapprochement with Soviet Russia. Republicans contended the increase in American exports with Russia were finding their way to the Nazi end of the Soviet-Nazi alliance and was inconsistent with administration demands for all-out aid to Britain. Reed took the matter to the floor when he charged in the House that the Roosevelt foreign policy was “two-faced, double-dealing and double-crossing.”

Extension of a study of smoke abatement in Jamestown was agreed upon by the Citizens’ Committee for Smoke Abatement. Committee members also discussed revision of the local smoke ordinance or the adoption of a new ordinance. Mayor Leon Roberts and Blanche Davis, committee co-chairperson, said no effective abatement would happen until required by law.

U.S. Rep. Charles Goodell, R-Jamestown, offered a 34-page bill aimed at a complete revamping of the Johnson Administration’s War on Poverty. Goodell wanted to change the title to the Opportunity Crusade Act of 1966 and increase coordination between federal agencies and industry to provide jobs and dignity for the poor. It would transfer anti-poverty programs back to regular federal agencies. By accenting coordination with state and local governments and industry, Goodell said the new program would do more to help the poor and still cut the federal share by $200,000,000.

Lucille Ball had become the latest contributor to the Gustavus Adolphus Children’s Home building fund drive. One-half of the gift came from her personally and the other half came from Desilu Productions, which she headed.

Opening a grocery store in the Third Street Plaza is difficult work, but Farm Fresh Food owners Steve Senske and Dave Waller said they were up for the task. To be successful, they needed to beat the 0-2 track record Quality Markets and Foodland grocery stores had scored before them on West Third Street. We feel with the reputation we’ve built for dairy, produce and meats customer service we’re in a good place, Waller said. Our strong suits are big box retailers weak points. We feel there’s still room for a hometown grocer. Senske and Waller planned to open March 27. By April 2006, Senske said, they plan to employ 100 people in their two Jamestown and one Tionesta, Pa., stores. The first Farm Fresh Foods opened in 1999.

A former assistant football coach at Chautauqua Lake Central School who confessed to having sexual relations with a high school student had other roles in the school district, including paid positions. According to District Attorney David Foley, the incident occurred in January 2003, while Mrs. Nickerson was an assistant coach. Foley would not say if the victim was a football player, but he did conform that Mrs. Nickerson met the underage male through her connections at the school. The school district had not said why Mrs. Nickerson’s ties with the school were severed but she was not connected to the school during her arrest.

David Denk, state DEC permit administrator, may study issues pertaining to the proposed Sealand Waste landfill, but some area residents have already made up their minds about the proposal. The agency’s staff sought to identify environmental issues so an environmental study to be undertaken for the proposed expanded landfill ensures a complete document addressing impacts deemed important by the public and agencies. Sealand was to complete fieldwork so the DEC can decide if site characteristics comply with DEC requirements for a landfill. While the studies were undertaken, Russell Payne, chairman of the town’s planning board, and a group of local residents are launching a campaign in order to fight the unwanted intrusion into our township of a 50-acre construction and demolition landfill.

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute had animal artifacts on display that will take visitors back millions of years, and recently first-graders from Rogers Elementary School received a first-hand look. zihar kids just love it, said Tina Nelson, a staff member at Roger Tory Peterson Institute who served as the students tour guide. To see some of these specimens face-to-face can be an eye-opening experience and they really get a lot out of it. And with everything on hand at the exhibit called Fossils!

In Years Past

In 1941, the ASCAP radio feud was felt in Jamestown as the Jamestown High School orchestra prepared to present its program in the public schools’ series over WJTN. During the past several days, Ebba H. Goranson, Jamestown Public Schools music supervisor, wrote and later telegraphed ASCAP for permission for the students to perform several ASCAP-controlled numbers. No acknowledgement was received, which meant the program was cut in half and presentation of several non-ASCAP numbers.

The waters of the Chadakoin River were being searched for Mrs. Fred B. McCall, who had been missing from her home since March 2. The search was conducted in Falconer by member of the Falconer police and fire departments and the emergency squad of the Henry Mosher American Legion Post. Mrs. McCall was last seen at the New York Central Railroad bridge where it crosses the Chadakoin.

In 2006, plans for a countywide energy summit continued to move forward. Legislator Scot Stutzman, I-Jamestown, said he was working to schedule a date to discuss energy issues but wants to be sure there is a bi-partisan effort to involve all appropriate parties. “What’s most important is when it occurs it’s not something done half-good,” Stutzman said. “It needs to be very good because if we’re going to be competitive and going to flourish we need to make sure we’re first very educated and learn about all aspects. That way when we move forward there are no myths, and no debate over what’s best.”

Rose Wightman, deputy director of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, said being able to provide low-cost energy would be a major selling point to potential businesses looking to move or expand within the county. “We’re very happy to work with (Stutzman) on this,” Ms. Wightman said. “Energy impacts every facet of life in the county and definitely our economy and the potential for development in the county. Anything you can do to impact the bottom line for a business is important.”

The Fluvanna Fire Department was looking for $250,000 to build a new fire hall near the Chautauqua County Airport in Jamestown. Fluvanna had two fire stations, one on Route 430 and a second one on Girts Road in an old hanger building where aircraft was built during World War II. The building is much too big for the fire department, so it is shared by Trinity Bio-Tech, which uses about three-quarters of the space. The fire department has rented the building for more than 30 years, but the owner had put the building up for sale. Richard Sedlack, the building chairman of the Fluvanna Volunteer Fire Department Station No. 2, said they have no interest in buying the aging hanger. “Failure to secure funds would put our community at extreme risk. The time element to get other departments to respond would most certainly lead to greater losses or possibly death,” he said.

In 2011, Starflight had recently awarded a certificate deeming it a registered air carrier, which means the program can start to become more self-sustaining and has stricter guidelines now. According to Larry Putnam, one of the command pilots in the program, “it means that we operate under a more stringent set of guidelines as far as the FAA is concerned. We have stricter rules and regulations now that we must adhere to and also our aircraft are under greater scrutiny as far as the maintenance that is done on them.”

Not all neighborhood revitalization is created equal, says Charles Buki, principal consultant for czb LLC. Upon reading the The Post-Journal’s article from Feb. 16 announcing a new Appleyard development to be situated along East Second Street, Buki said any proposed development that requires city endorsement should pose a few direct questions from those responsible for urban planning. Among them: “Is this likely to be a project that the community will be proud of five, 10 or 20 years from now – in terms of how it looks, how it functions and what its real estate value is?” Without obtaining specific details concerning Appleyard phase 3, Buki said there are concerns which surface immediately from new subsidized units in the Jamestown housing market. “If I were a hot market, I would say that’s OK. But in this particular case, I would have to question whether that is good for Jamestown,” said Buki. “We’re matching a product, which is permanent, to a family which shouldn’t be permanent, and basically locking the two in a dance forever. You’re guaranteeing that part of Jamestown where Appleyard 3 goes will remain a subsidized area.”

In Years Past

In 1941, the Hollywood Restaurant Building on Harrison Street was destroyed by fire. Firemen Carl E. Sandquist was hurt seriously and fireman Francis A. Corrigan was slightly injured when they were trapped in falling debris while 22 residents of the Roosevelt Apartments were forced from their beds. Fire officials termed it the most dangerous blaze in Jamestown in some years. The building was a popular resort of many farmers who brought their produce to markets in Jamestown in the late 19th century and early in the 20th century.

Fifty additional jurors had been summoned for a trial of 14 people accused of operating a bingo game at 310-314 N. Main St. in violation of state lottery law. Some of the defendants were arrested twice in recent raids on the downtown establishment, where equipment was seized and players were requested to leave.

In 1966, spokespeople from three enforcement levels in Pennsylvania agreed that a lower drinking age in New York compared to Pennsylvania was a problem, though not a major one. Robert Payne, Carroll police chief, said, “It presents quite a problem almost every weekend Friday through Sunday.” Michael Evan, Warren police chief, said he would like to see the two states have the same drinking age. “I feel a greater degree of uniformity is desirable, particularly since we’re in such close proximity,” Evan said.

Jim McCusker, whose blocking assignments with the Pitt Panthers in college and with the Chicago Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets, had a new job – businessman. McCusker, one of Jamestown High School’s all-time great lineman, had opened The Pub on Main Street.

In 2006, County Executive Greg Edwards vetoed repeal of the county’s tax on home heating fuels in favor of a broader tax cutting initiative. It was Edwards’ first veto in his term as county executive and came after town, village and city officials said the tax would create revenue holes in their 2007 budgets, including about $400,000 for Jamestown. “Many of these same elected officials had not been part of any discussion or dialogue about the resolution before it was passed, or (were) aware of its impact,” Edwards said in his veto message. “We need to create a comprehensive tax cut from discussion with all of our elected officials that will not result in tax increases in other areas. Our county cannot afford an increase in property taxes that would drive more people and businesses from Chautauqua County.” Charles Cornell, D-Jamestown and majority leader, called on Edwards to sign the tax with no further delay. “I believe it is wrong to tax people to heat their homes,” said Cornell. “If Mr. Edwards agrees that it’s wrong to tax people to heat their homes, he should sign this legislation without delay. No more excuses. This is a very straightforward proposal. The people of Chautauqua County want and deserve a lot less talk, and a lot more action.”

Reactions to Jamestown’s revaluation were a mixed bag. Some were happy with their assessment, some aren’t. “Ask me, I already made my appointment – March 14,” said John Liscandro, owner of Liscandro’s Restaurant on Main Street. “Yeah, I don’t have a garage, I don’t have a basement. Do they have blind people doing this? “His March 14 appointment is to fight the assessment informally before GAR Associates assessors and hopefully lower it. “They said the house is $73,000. I don’t understand what they were comparing my house to,” he said of his formerly $25,000 valued home. “They took houses on McDaniel and Brad streets. That’s not in the neighborhood.” Charlie Anderson listened to this conversation with interest. His business, C.A. Anderson, Inc. on First Street will be taxed $360 less if area government’s budgets stay the same. “It all depends on the budgets,” Anderson said. “But I’m happy with mine. The new city assessment is at $65,000.”

In 2011, Anthony Caprino may have held the position of Lakewood mayor for more than 30 years, but to many, Caprino was more than just a public figure. Friends and colleagues remembered Caprino after news of his death at the age of 81 became public Friday. Bill Evans, Lakewood Community Development Corporation president, said it was devastating to hear that his friend of more than 30 years had passed. Duane Anderson, a longtime village trustee, said the rezoning of Route 394 to provide for more commercial businesses that led to the construction of the Lakewood Village Center was another great deed done by the mayor.

Lakewood Village Board members said they were continuing their work with Busti officials on areas where the two municipalities can save money. The board, along with Jesse Robbins, a Busti councilman who attended Monday’s meeting, said work is continuing on the proposal to purchase gas at a cheaper rate for the village. Town officials purchased gas for a rate of 30 cents a gallon cheaper than village officials. However, because the town’s gas reserves are located at the Busti Highway Department, which is along Lawson Road outside of the village, it may not be worth the trip for village vehicles to the use the cheaper gas. Village Board members said they are talking with the Southwestern Central School District administrators about possibly putting a new gas tank in the village that both entities could use to benefit from the cheaper gas the town can purchase. The one department where immediate savings can be found is with the Lakewood-Busti Police Department. John Bentley, Lakewood-Busti Police chief, said his department could save $300 a month by using the gas at the town highway department. Also, it would not cost the department any extra money to travel to the gas reserves in Busti because the vehicles would be patrolling the area.

In Years Past

In 1941, Jamestown High School boys were described as eager and capable cooks in an article written by Jennie Vimmerstedt. Cooking classes for boys had been going on for about eight years. “We never believed it could be so until we saw the boys in action today,” Vimmerstedt wrote. Melvin Lundberg, captain of the football team, told Vimmerstedt “Every boy should know how to cook. You never know when you’ll be on your own and it’s a wise man who prepares for that day. Everyone has to eat. Seems the sensible thing to know how to get some of those eats ready.”

Ten more local youths would be given the opportunity of taking flight training in conjunction with the Civil Pilot Training program thanks to scholarship funding. The local Chamber of Commerce would now have 30 flight courses for the community. During the past few months, more than 24 attended classes regularly for instruction.

In 1966, two West Ellicott residents were among 107 Americans held incommunicado in a Damascus hotel for three days the previous week during a Syrian coup that ousted President Amin El-Hafez from power in a takeover by the left-wing military junta under Dr. Noureddin Alassi. Mr. and Mrs. George Gokey missed out on the highlight of their European and Asia Minor trip, a visit to the Holy Land, when the tour agenda was interrupted by the uprising. In a letter to her son, John B. Sewell and family of West Ellicott, Mrs. Gokey said she and her husband went by car from Beirut over the Lebanon Mountains to Damascus, expecting to leave early the next morning for the Holy Land. “When we awoke the next morning, we heard lots and lots of loud noises. I thought at first it was just giant firecrackers celebrating Ash Wednesday. Upon arising we found out a war was going on right outside our hotel,” Mrs. Gokey wrote.

In 2006, thanks to a buyout from a Delaware corporation and a $196,385.64 mortgage forgiven, Jamestown Metal Products and its 99 employees would remain in Jamestown. The acquisition was announced at a Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency Board’s meeting. JMP Acquisition Corp. reached an agreement to acquire the Jamestown company and keep its manufacturing facilities and headquarters at its current Blackstone Avenue location. Jeff Christie, current owner and president of JMP Acquisition Corp., will continue to lead the business. He said the business is expected to grow in the coming years.”The new ownership will provide us with extensive support to strengthen and grow the existing business and develop new products, markets, and customers,” Christie said.

A Jamestown woman has been arrested after allegedly scamming money from four different couples trying to adopt her baby. According to city police, Patricia Pearson, 30, of 6 Stowe St. was charged Thursday with first-degree scheme to defraud and third-degree grand larceny. Her arrest came five years after her sister was arrested for doing nearly the same thing. According to Lt. Todd Isaacson, in early January city police were contacted by the New York State Division of Parole regarding a possible baby scam. “She was getting money for the same thing. She would get coats from (multiple) families. She was getting rent money for an apartment which didn’t exist,” he said.

In 2011, a pair of bills introduced in the state Assembly to enforce bicycle registration only had a lifespan of a few weeks. The groundswell of local opposition celebrated Thursday, when it was announced that the Assembly’s traffic committee would pull the two bills from its agenda indefinitely. State Sen. Cathy Young, R-Ind-Con-Olean, cited “public outrage” from cyclists and the general public concerned about intrusive regulation that ultimately caused the legislation to be pulled from the Assembly’s transportation committee. State Assemblyman Michael DenDekker, D-Queens, introduced the bills that would have required a registration process in order to obtain miniature-sized license plates for both personal- and commercial-use bicycles. “Taxing people for riding their bikes is exactly the line of thinking that has Chautauqua County’s families and businesses wondering about Albany’s priorities. State government should be focusing on economic development mandate relief and real reforms,” said state Assemblyman Andrew Goodell.

Emotions ran high in the cafeteria of Rogers Elementary School as Jamestown Public Schools Superintendent Deke Kathman continued to unfold the district’s plan to close the elementary school at the end of the 2011-12 school year. According to Kathman, moves were being made to increase district efficiency and save nearly $1 million per year. “We should have been given the option before they said it was a plan, that this was going to happen, said Heidi Erickson, a Rogers Elementary School parent. “We were not given the right to vote on it, talk and discuss it, and we have all these fears and concerns as parents. We love the way this smaller school is run, and I’m not sure I can say that about a school of 500. Rogers Elementary School had the lowest enrollment of all six of the district’s elementary schools, something many Rogers parents had come to love over the years, but ironically it was also a driving factor behind the decision to close the school. “What we’ve done is study the demographics of our community based on student population, said Kathman. “And the Rogers district represents a relatively thin slice of neighborhood, and it has since 1988 when the district was set up in this way. Since then, student population here has been on a steady decline. And it wasn’t a large neighborhood to begin with.

In Years Past

In 1941, a producers’ strike which threatened to shut off the supply of milk to Fredonia and Dunkirk was averted through a compromise agreement effected at a distributors meeting recently in the Chamber of Commerce offices in Dunkirk. The strike was to have begun March 1. A farmers’ organization composed of Cassadaga, Forestville and Stockton producers had determined the entire supply would be held from the market unless a new price schedule was arranged. In the event of failure to come to agreement the producers were ready to dump milk.

Police paid a surprise visit to a clubroom located in a building immediately west of the Falconer Community Building early the morning of March 2 and charged six men with disorderly conduct. The men were reported as “having a card game” and were charged by Wesson Puplow, Falconer police chief, Patrolmen Albert Hall and Sergeant C.H. Lee of the state police. All of the men pleaded guilty when arraigned and were fined. Police seized some cards and poker chips.

In 1966, three people, including a baby, escaped serious injury when their car brakes gave way and the car sped down Crossman Street, crossed North Main Street and crashed into a house on the west side of North Main Street. Carl Foti, driver of the runaway car, told Jamestown police the brakes failed at the corner of Crossman Street and Prendergast Avenue. Foti said he blew the car horn the entire time the car was out of control to alert other drivers. A bay window at 903 N. Main St. was knocked off by the impact.

Top state and federal foreign trade experts were ending two days of conferences with Jamestown manufacturers aimed at increasing the number of Chautauqua County manufacturers shipping products to other lands. While many were already exporters and primarily concerned with learning more about the field, almost half of the companies attending were entering the export field for the first time.

In 2006, a program in the courts that began in Chautauqua County was moving across the state. Recently, the Bronx County Bar Association voted to try summary jury trials in its county. Summary jury trials were first introduced in the state six years ago by retired state Supreme Court Judge Joseph Gerace. Gerace explained that a summary jury trial is a one-day trial in which a jury is selected to hear the evidence and make a ruling, based on what the law is and the testimony given. “It’s along the lines of arbitration except that a jury is used to decide the facts,” he said. Summary jury trials are used in civil cases. Most of them are personal injury cases when the plaintiff is seeking between $50,000-$200,000. Gerace said there have been times when it’s been used for larger cases. Along with personal injury cases, summary jury trials had been used in contract, timber cutting and property damage cases.

Hallquist Park was a little emptier than it used to be. Sometime in early February 2006, the 5-by-8-foot United States flag that was on the flagpole in the park was taken down by an unknown party. The all-weather flag and pole were a gift to the community from Eunice Speta. Dedicated in a special ceremony during the bicentennial, the flag and pole were donated in memory of Mrs. Speta’s husband, Sgt Henry J. Speta, U.S. Army. Speta served during World War II and Korea. He was killed in the Bafin Islands in Canada in 1953 while building an airstrip.

In 2011, gas prices had hit the highest level seen locally since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. According to AAA East Central, all states now have an average gas price of more than $3 a gallon, with the national average up to $3.375 a gallon – a 20.4 cent increase from the week of Feb. 22. In the Jamestown area, AAA East Central lists gas prices at $3.486 a gallon, though a drive through the area shows prices of $3.57 for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline. Gas prices have increased more than 24 cents in eight days. “I still drive around, it just costs me a lot more money,” said Mark Garrett of Busti. “You’ve got to work so you’ve got to pay it. It sucks. I just don’t understand why it’s so high. There’s just no reason for it.”

The League of Women Voters of Chautauqua County wanted to see local elected officials removed from the process of downsizing and redistricting the County Legislature. However, as such a separation was unlikely, Minda Rae Amiran said the group appealed to Legislature Chairman Fred Croscut, R-Sherman, for more than just politicians to be a part of the process. “A committee of legislators, however many of them there are and however well-balanced they are between Democrats and Republicans, is still a committee that is hardly neutral on the subject of how their districts should be carved out,” Amiran said.

In Years Past

In 1966, winds with gusts up to 50 miles an their buffeted the area on March 1, causing at least one traffic accident, shattering a large tree in Randolph and resulting in the downing of a 4,800-volt power line in Falconer. The downed power line brought damage to three vehicles and led to a Falconer firefighter receiving a mild electrical shock.

Statewide expansion of occupational education programs were discussed informally by a state Education Department official during a Jamestown Public Schools board meeting. Harry W. Langworthy, state Education Department associate for school district organization, said the federal program for providing increased opportunities for vocational instruction would be administered by the state Education Department. The program would be channeled through the state’s BOCES or through Area Centers for Cooperative Educational Services, which would be created by a bill pending in the state Legislature. A survey report called for establishment of a new vocational school in northern Chautauqua County. E Milton Johnson, Jamestown school board president, said because 40 percent of the county’s school children were enrolled within a 6- to 10-mile radius of Jamestown asked if the area’s participation in a program that would involve transporting students a long distance made sense since Jamestown already had courses of study and facilities superior to anything available in southwestern New York.

In 2006, Jamestown has reached the $1 billion mark. All the properties – churches, houses, factories, schools, pipelines, roads and parking lots – are worth more than $1 billion, a total that is more than all the county’s municipal budgets combined, but only about 69 percent is taxable. On Feb. 28, 2006, the taxable value calculated by the state with a 30 percent equalization rate was $653 million. On March 1, the raw value was $696 million. “That’s an extra $40 million going to reduce the rates. It’s more than we expected,” said Randall Holcomb, city assessor. At the same time, Chautauqua County’s value increased by $40 million. If all else remains the same by the time tax rolls are finalized later this year, Jamestown property owners will be paying $357,200 more in county taxes than they were before. This would relieve surrounding towns from some of their burden – as long as county officials don’t increase their budgets.

St. James parishioners erupted in applause after clearing the last of the hurdles to demolish their former school. Jamestown Zoning Board of Appeals members voted unanimously to make the residential-zoned St. James School at 10 Prospect St. a light commercial zone suited for development of a Walgreen’s pharmacy. The Roman Catholic school once housed kindergarten through ninth-grade students until the mid-1970s when it was closed to all but pre-school, Montessori-type education and the St. Susan Center. The Rev. Attoine Attea, pastor of St. James, said he estimated $52,000 a year was spent just keeping the building open in his 27 years as pastor. Now that the sale of the building looks nearly complete, Attea said he would be pushing”serious” plans for a faith formation center to be built at the back of the existing church on Allen Street. “It would be a new building, about one-tenth the size of the school that can use (district heat) the church already has,” he said.

In 2011, Geopolitically speaking, it appears that Madison, Wis., and Albany are miles and miles apart. Politically, they might be pretty close together. That is how Mayor Sam Teresi viewed the situation in New York’s capital compared to political turmoil in other parts of the country that have pitted union supporters against cost-cutting proposals that would roll back the benefits and even bargaining rights of labor groups. Earlier this week, while presiding over the New York Conference of Mayor’s winter legislative session, Teresi said there was “guarded optimism” within the halls of the state Capitol Building and a scene of unified spirit. “We need to bring our way of doing business into the 21st century while protecting the right of labor and protecting the taxpayers in the state,” said Teresi. “People are being realistic here about talking about reform.”

A boating history museum was to come to Bemus Point in the building that used to house L-S Aero Marine. “We want to take the history and legacy of Chautauqua Lake and share it with generations to come,” said Anthony Hopfinger, center board president. The mission of The Lawson Center is to preserve the boating history and the physical presence the Lawson family has established on Chautauqua Lake, educate and enrich people’s lives through the reflection of the past and reach out to people of all ages by providing historic and educational boating exhibits. A function of The Lawson Boating Heritage Center will be presenting classes with workshops, as well as teaching the traditions and skills of the past with respect to boat building and restoration.

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