The first major Lake Effect Snow event of the Winter is continuing in the Jamestown-area for a short-time more this morning.
The snow started coming early last evening and, continued through the overnight. A Lake Effect Snow Warning continues for Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Southern Erie counties until 7 a.m. today.
Forecaster Bob Hamilton with the National Weather Service's Buffalo Office said the lake effect snow fired up to the north late Wednesay and, by 6:00 last night, Silver Creek had a foot of snow on the ground.
About three to four inches of snow was seen in the Mayville area early last evening. The major lake effect snow band set up between Fredonia and Hamburg, just south of Buffalo during the day-time hours yesterday.
Some places may see upwards of a foot to a 1.5 feet of snow by the time it ends in the Buffalo area tonight.
Chautauqua County snowplow crews are ready to go for the change-over to Winter Weather conditions and, all 30 pieces of equipment are ready to go.
That from County Executive Vince Horrigan, who says he was at the Department of Public Facilities Sherman shop last night to see the crew's readiness. Horrigan says they're set for whatever amount of snow we receive.
Horrigan says the 21,000 tons of salt sounds like a lot, but he says some of that salt goes to other local municipalities who go in with the county to purchase road salt in bulk from the state. He says it's sometimes difficult to predict how much is needed because the county wraps up it's fiscal year needing a certain amount of salt, then needs to start the following year with a certain amount as well.
Horrigan says local motorists should make sure to give plow crews plenty of room to do their work, and slow down when they come upon a working plow on the roads. He made his comments for this coming weekend's "Community Spotlight" program on the five Media One Group stations.
The Cockaigne Ski Center has now officially been sold to two local men who hope to rebuild the lodge and, have the ski area open in time for the 2018 season.
That from State Assemblyman Andy Goodell who is also the Jamestown area attorney for Adam Pirtz and Isaac Gratto. Goodell tells the Jamestown Post-Journal that this is "great news for our county."
A January 2011 fire destroyed the Austrian Pavilion lodge and, the ski resort opened 10 days later to finish the season but did not reopen thereafter.
Deputies with the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office will soon be driving in new vehicles that are of a different make and design and, so far reviews have been good.
Sheriff Joe Gerace say the first of the new vehicles was put into service Wednesday and, he says the Chevrolet Impala vehicle they used the past more than a decade is being replaced.
Gerace says Chevrolet has pulled the Impala from its line of police vehicles, so he decided on the Ford Inteceptor vehicles with a black and gold color.
Gerace says they had used a red and white color for the old Impala's for nearly 15 years. He says they chose the Ford Interceptor for a number of reasons.
One of those reasons is that it gives deputies more room for the equipment they carry, which now includes portable defibrillators and other EMT equipment. Gerace says the red and white cars will continue to be used until the full conversion is complete.
The annual "Toys for Tots" program to provide new toys for children in needy families in Chautauqua County is going very well but, they still need items for one particular age group.
The effort, supported by The Resource Center, has seen a flurry of activity in recent days but, one of the coordinators, Heather Brown, says they're into their final week of collecting toys in the area.
Brown says while they have a lot of toys for most age groups, they are in dire need of toys for teenaged boys. She says they have some clothing and sport items but, not that much.
Brown says they hand out toys for kids 0 to 17 years of age. She says there are several local stores and restaurants that are collecting, as well as their headquarters in the Allied Alarm Building at 2020 Allen Street Extension. She says that's where they'll be distributing toys starting on December 16 and, they can use volunteers for that.
If you're interested in helping out, call Heather Brown at 661-1042 or go to The Resource Center's website for more information.
A man from Westfield faces charges following a motor vehicle accident in the town of Chautauqua for allegedly driving while under the influence of drugs Wednesday afternoon.
Sheriff's deputies were called to the scene of a single car crash near
63-98 Route 394 just after
3:30 PM. On arrival, officers say 54 year-old Kevin Kelley was driving northbound when he left the roadway and, came to rest in a field. A witness at the scene told officers that Kelley had been driving erratically prior to the crash.
Following the investigation, Kelley was reportedly operating under the influence of drugs and he was arrested. Kelley was also found to be in possession of a controlled narcotic medication without prescription. He was also charged with seventh-degree Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, as well as several traffic tickets. He is to appear in court in January.
North county officials are disappointed by the news that Peebles on Vineyard Drive in Dunkirk will be closing next month.
Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas says he had first heard about the closing nearly a week ago.
The store is expected to close its doors on January 20. About 10 associates work at the Dunkirk-area store.
Rosas says he intends to work with incoming County Executive George Borrello to come up with a plan to bring new development to the area. It's the second store to close in the Dunkirk area in less than a year. JC Penney at the D&F Plaza also closed earlier this year.
The New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse could end up hosting more events year-round.
The state said Wednesday that it's seeking a private company to book events at the fairgrounds and its planned expo center starting next summer. Construction of the 136,000-square-foot expo center is expected to begin this month.
The state's request for proposals seeks a contractor that would book at least 20 events in the expo center by the end of 2019. Three of those events would also have to use other fairground facilities.
