A city man recently convicted of being in possession of an illegal drug -- and trafficking it across the region -- has been sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison...  

 

U.S. Attorney James Kennedy, Junior says 34 year-old Barrett Johnson was sentenced to the 30-month term by Chief U-S District Court Judge Frank Geraci, Junior in Buffalo late Monday.  Johnson was convicted of possession with intent to distribute MDA, also known as "Molly."  Prosecutors say Johnson sold MDA on multiple occasions, at locations which included Johnson's barbershop.  Two other co-defendants have already been convicted, as well.

 

 

Our on-going freeze-thaw cycle in western New York has caused a lot of "heaving" in the ground, resulting in hundreds of potholes across the city of Jamestown...  

 

With that, the city has developed a new tool for residents to report potholes on-line to help the Public Works Department locate and deal with them once warmer weather arrives.  Mayor Sam Teresi last night outlined the new part of the city's JamestownNY.net website.

 

Teresi says residents just need to leave their information, and the specific location where the pothole is located.  He says DPW crews will use the cold patch until the weather warms up, and "hot patch" is available from Jamestown MacAdam.  Teresi says-- once Jamestown MacAdam opens-- they plan to dedicate a crew to patch potholes and cracks on city streets.  He says street repair will be part of the DPW's Summer Project schedule, which will come out sometime later in April.  

 

There are schools across the state-- including at least one locally-- that have looked into arming teachers in the classroom the past few years to protect against potential shooters...  

 

Sheriff Joe Gerace was part of that panel, along with retired school administrator Tom Schmidt, a few years ago.  Schmidt says the panel first looked at the state's Penal Law and, it could be done under an exemption in that law.

 

Gerace says even after that, there are many questions still to be answered, including what firearms would be allowed, and who would have them.  He says the law itself does not include what kind of firearms would be permitted, or who would be allowed to be trained, and have them.  Gerace says the idea has gone no further than being studied.  Neither Gerace nor Schmidt are advocating for or against guns in schools.  Gerace says there are also liability issues that would have to be considered first.  With that, he would prefer schools that would allow some school personnel to carry guns to also have School Resource Officers.

 

 

The New York Senate has voted to increase state funding to help schools pay for armed police and security upgrades...  

 

Other bills endorsed by the Senate Monday would mandate two annual active-shooter drills and set aside money for mental health services coordinators in local schools.  Another measure would change criminal penalties to make the criminal discharge of a gun within 1,000 feet of a school or place of worship eligible to be considered a terrorist act.  The bills came from members of the Senate's Republican majority, who called them common-sense responses to incidents like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.  Democrats complained that the bills ignore access to firearms and tried unsuccessfully to add stronger background checks and other gun restrictions.  The legislation now moves to the Democrat-controlled Assembly.

 

 

The mayor of Fredonia says she's disappointed with the direction the Fredonia School Board intends to take when it comes to having a school resource officer in the school district...  

 

School Board members indicated during a meeting last week they desired to have either a retired officer or a school peace officer.  Fredonia Mayor Athanasia Landis Monday moring said she still supports having a village police officer handle the duties for a number of reasons-- including at retired officer not  having the resources a current-officer has.

 

The Fredonia Central School system did have an SRO from the police department handle the duties until three years ago when the village board at the time pulled the plug on the program because of budget cuts.

 

 

Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello is well past the mid-way point in his effort to visit 100 local businesses in his first 100 days in office...  

 

Borrello was out visiting Fredonia Hardware late last week and earlier in the week stopped at Ripley Machine and Tool in Ripley.  Ripley Machine is now owned and operated by the grandson of original owner Quentin Buesink.  Borrello says 24 year-old Andy Reinwald now heads up the operation.

 

Borrello agrees that there has been an up-tick across the county of young "Millennials" who have taken over businesses, or are helping to run them locally.  He says they seem to appreciate what is here and aren't being driven so much by monetary gain.  Borrello says he's been using the visits to see what local companies need to be able to compete and grow in the area.  He says workforce issues continue to be big right now.  As of Monday, Borrello said he has now visited 65 businesses so far. 

 

 

A man from Pennsylvania has been arrested in Jamestown for allegedly driving while drunk, and talking on his cellphone when he nearly struck a pedestrian with his car early last weekend...  

 

City police say a patrol spotted a vehicle commit several traffic infractions on West Third Street about 1 a.m. Saturday and almost struck the person walking.  Officers pulled over 33 year-old Chad Thompson who allegedly had an open container of alcohol in the car and was using his cellphone.  Thompson was arrested for DWI, Aggravated DWI, failure to maintain lane, and operating a motor vehicle while using a mobile device.