Missing Boater found in Chautauqua Lake...
A kayaker on Chautauqua Lake near Lakewood has found the body of a missing village man in the area he went missing this past Sunday. Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace says divers were getting ready to go back into the water in the area east of the Lakewood Rod and Gun Club when the body of 52 year-old Phillip Gibbs was found floating near the surface. Gerace says Gibbs' body was found about 6 a.m. He says the department's Marine Division and WET Team were ready to go back into the water where Gibbs was last seen. His boat was found anchored in an area about a quarter of a mile off shore Sunday night... and, divers went into the water Monday morning. Gerace says it was a 'horrific tragedy..." and, adds their thoughts and prayers are with Gibbs' family. Gerace says a county coroner confirmed the death was due to accidential drowning.
Emergency crews rescue Zoar Valley hiker hours after one was killed in fall into Cattaraugus Creek...
Emergency crews that recovered a man's body from a western New York creek used the same equipment soon after to rescue a hiker who had been swept away by the strong current. The Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office says the man died after falling nearly 200 feet from a cliff in the Zoar Valley gorge early Tuesday morning. A friend discovered his body at the bottom of the cliff along Cattaraugus Creek. Fire crews used a rescue raft to recover the body. His name hasn't been released. State police say a few hours later 35-year-old Kelly Ziolkowski of Tonawanda fell into the creek while hiking with a friend. She was swept downstream while the friend called 9-1-1. Nearby emergency crews used the same raft to pull Ziolkowski from the water. She wasn't injured.
National Trust places Chautauqua Inst. Amphitheater on "endangered" list...
The historical Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater has made this year’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Trust is releasing it's list this morning... and, says the Amphitheater is one of the places they've selected. Field Director Alicia Leuba in Boston says they carefully review" dozens of nominations... and, make their decisions based on three criteria. Leuba says they are: significance -- historically and architecturally... urgency... and, potential solutions to preserve the site. She says it's an "iconic cultural landmark." Leuba says naming the Amp to the list raises the status of it's possible "plight...." and, gives people a way to get involved in the process of saving a landmark. For more information... she says you can go to their website at www.savingplaces.org/amp to sign a petition. Leuba wouldn't reveal any of the others on the list... but, the Trust says it's the organization's "most diverse list ever." The Amphitheater was nominated by the Committee to Save the Historic Chautauqua Amphitheater... or "Save the Amp..." and two individuals.
Group opposed to SAFE Act says data shows few owners complied with law to register reclassified guns...
A group opposed to New York's two-year-old gun law says registration data show few owners complied with the requirement to register firearms reclassified as assault weapons. NY-2A, which advocates for Second Amendment rights, says newly reported data show only 23,847 people registered 44,485 firearms while Governor Andrew Cuomo estimated New Yorkers owned one million such guns before the 2013 measure banned sales in New York. The registration requirement applies to semi-automatic weapons with a detachable magazine that have a single military-style feature such as a pistol grip. The group's co-founder, Jake Palmateer, says data show the gun control scheme was a failure. Cuomo has called the measures, including a ban on large magazines, common sense. They were enacted after a gunman killed 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Gas pump prices increase slightly this week...
Gasoline prices in Chautauqua County are currently trending upward... increasing by just under a penny a gallon this week. That from the AAA's weekly Fuel Gauge report... which says the price is up from $2.94.3 last week to just over $2.95 this week. The AAA says the average price of regular, unleaded gasoline is based on reports from 19 service stations in the Jamestown area. At this time last year... the price was $3.88 a gallon. The national average is down about a penny to 2-dollars-79 cents this week. Pump prices nationally have stabilized in recent days... or even dropped in many areas as refineries solve productions issues.
