Sherman woman killled in train-pedestrian accident in Westfield...
A fatal train-pedestrian accident in Westfield has claimed the life of a Sherman woman. Westfield Village Police say they were called to the CSX crossing at North Gale Street about 3:15 p.m. Thursday on a report of a person being stuck. Officers say they found 62 year-old Dixie Smith of Osbourne Street dead under the train. Witnesses tell police they had seen her talking north across the tracks a short time before she was struck by the eastbound train... which was headed to Buffalo. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say the investigation into the accident is continuing.
Overnight house fire reported in town of Portland...
Several fire departments responded to an early morning house fire in the town of Portland. The fire on Ellicott Road was first reported shortly before 3:30 this morning. That from the Chautauqua County Emergency Dispatch Center... which reported there were no injuries. Brocton firefighters had assistance from a number of surrounding departments. Chautauqua County fire investigators will be sent to the scene to determine the cause of the blaze.
Two men involved in Cattaraugus County Plane Crash identified...
The Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Department has now identified the two men on board the plane that crashed yesterday afternoon north of Salamanca. However... they are not identifying which was the pilot. Deputies say the man killed was 80-year-old William Mandelare of Brockport... while the man seriously hurt was 72-year-old Raymond Groetsch... also of Brockport. The crash occured as the plane had a problem on take-off from the Great Valley Airport shortly before 2:30 p.m. The cause of the crash is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board... and, the FAA. An NTSB investigator was expected on site today of where the Cessna 177 plane crashed.
Buffalo among NYS cities that beat record high temperatures Thursday...
It was a day of record warm temperatures for April 8th... as the record high was smashed at the Buffalo Airport Thursday afternoon. As of 4 p.m., the National Weather Service reported 84-degrees -- smashing the previous high of 75 set in 1921 and 1971. The Dunkirk Airport reached 79 by 11 a.m., and, the Jamestown Airport had 78 at 4 p.m. Forecaster Bob Hamilton at the National Weather Service's Buffalo office expected several locations to easily exceed their record highs... especially across the Lake Erie plain. Along with the unseasonably warm weather, there's been a lack of rainfall in recent weeks. Hamilton says the dry conditions in Western New York were not helped by below normal snowfall. NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System has placed nearly all of Western New York... including Chautauqua County... under a moderate drought. The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office warned Thursday that the dry conditions were helping to spark brush fires in the area. They said an open burn ban remains in effect until May.
New confirmed number of COVID-19 cases Thursday total 17...
The Chautauqua County Health Department is reporting 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the county... with most of those -- 10 -- being reported in Jamestown. Health officials say there have now been 8,411 total cases... and 155 of those are currently active. They say there are 6 people hospitalized. Officials say 8,114 cases have now recovered.
Goodell says new state budget includes "massive increase" in spending and taxes...
New York state will be spending billions of dollars in federal funds over the next year on schools and relief for struggling businesses, tenants and landlords under the new $212-billion 2021-22 budget. The State Assembly held a marathon session Wednesday that ended about Midnight Wednesday night. Local Assemblyman Andy Goodell says the big take-away from this spending plan is it's "massive increase" in spending and taxes... totalling nearly $20-billion. Goodell adds income taxes will be going up by about 4-billion dollars. Governor Andrew Cuomo has said he'll sign the budget. Goodell says Cuomo did have some "moderating" influence this year because his operations budget was "very tight" and modest. However... Goodell says Cuomo basically "threw in the towel" on other bills due to all the scandals he's facing. In past years... Cuomo helped moderate the budget because he would press for no spending increases above the state's 2-percent property tax cap. The state Senate passed the budget legislation Wednesday morning. Goodell says he voted for some bills... and, against others... during their session.
Memorial service to honor late City Councilwoman Vickye James held at her home church...
There was a small, private gathering for a memorial service to remember the late Vickye James in Jamestown Wednesday night... but, hundreds of others watched on-line. The service was held at the Emmanuel Baptist Church... the long-tme church home of the late Third-Ward City Councilwoman. Mayor Eddie Sundquist was among those attending in person... and, he says the number of people on line was not surprising. James died unexpectely at her home on Saturday night, March 27. It was just two days before the Council's voting session, that was held out of necessity. Sundquist was joined Wednesday night by several City Council members, and former Mayor Sam Teresi, who knew James for better than 30 years. Sundquist says he will make a decision soon on who he'll appoint to replace James... and, city's Democratic Committee will decide on someone to run in this November's election.
