A Lakewood-area man has been identified by state Police in Jamestown as the person found dead in a rural area of the town of Randolph in Cattaraugus County last weekend...  

 

Troopers say they've identified the man as 48 year-old Wilfredo Rodriguez-Colon of Busti, who was reported missing early last weekend.  State Police say his body was found just off Swanson Hill Road shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday by some residents of the area.  Troopers say they identified Rodriguez-Colon with the help of the Erie County Medical Examiners Office late Monday.  Cattaraugus County Coroner Howie VanRenselaer is assisting with the case, which remains under investigation.

 

 

An accident involving a vehicle and a pedestrian in the village of Westfield Sunday night claimed the life of a Westfield man...  

 

Village Police say the driver of a vehicle had pulled out from the McDonald's parking lot on East Main Street and was westbound about 10 p.m. when he struck a man in the roadway, who was not using a crosswalk.  The victim, 65-year-old Thomas Baideme, was pronounced dead at the scene.  The body was taken to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo for an autopsy.  Police say no charges have been filed and, the Sheriff's Department Accident Reconstruction Team assisted at the scene. 

 

 

Charges are pending for a teen-aged driver following a motor vehicle accident that left two people injured Monday morning in the Town of Hanover... 

 

Sheriff's deputies responded to the two-car collision on Routes 5 and 20 and Hanford Road shortly after 11:30. Officers say a vehicle operated by 18 year-old Brett Logan made a right-hand turn and failed to yield to the right of way at a stop sign. Logan struck a vehicle driven by 27 year-old Alfred Ford, which was traveling west on Route 5 and 20. Deputies say Ford and his passenger were transported to Lakeshore Hospital for minor injuries. The investigation continues.  

 

 

A cab driver from Jamestown has been arrested on a 30-count indictment for allegedly stealing more than $7,500 from Medicaid by illegal billing for phony medical transports...  

 

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says Haimid "Mookie" Thompson is then accused of paying another man to claim that he was getting the rides from 716 Transportation when he was not.  Schneiderman says the other man was an undercover officer with the A-G's office who was part of "Operation Ghost Ride," which has been investigating Medicaid transit scams across the state.  He says the ongoing investigation showed that 716 Transporation submitted claims to, and received payment from, Medicaid for rides that did not take place.  Schneiderman says Thompson appeared in Buffalo District Court and, faces Felony charges including first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and falsifying business records.  He will appear in court again this Friday.

 

 

A city man has been arrested on drug and weapons possession charges following a weekend domestic incident on Jamestown's eastside...  

 

City Police Captain Bob Samuelson says officers were called to 49 Anderson Street shortly before Midnight last Saturday night and, investigated.  He says they later arrested 45 year-old Danny Michael, III.  Samuelson says a search warrant revealed items including a 22-calibur rifle, a starter's pistol, 38 grams of methamphetime, drug paraphernalia and a quantity of cash.  He says there was nothing unusual about the typical amount of Meth they seize.  Samuelson says Michael is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth degree criminal possession of a weapon.  He was jailed pending arraignement.

 

 

Some Jamestown city lawmakers want to revisit the issue of trimming the deer population that's been a big problem in some parts of the city...  

 

The matter was raised by At-Large Councilman Andrew Liuzzo, who says it was brought up in a letter to the editor in the Post-Journal last weekend.  Liuzzo then raised the issue on Facebook, and it received some 400-plus "likes".  He adds that sentiment ran about 7-1 with the need to do something about it.  Liuzzo says he talked to a Regional Biologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation about possible options, including using area bow hunters.  He also called on residents to not feed the deer.

 

Liuzzo says using bows with a small number of certified hunters may be the safest and quietest way to thin the population.  However, he also wants to get public input before any final decision would be made.  Second Ward Councilman Tony Dolce says there's especially been a problem on the city's southside.  Dolce and others suggested waiting until Police Chief Harry Snellings was back in town to talk more at length about the issue.

 

 

A boost in final state aid has allowed the Southwestern Central School district to hold a proposed spending increase below 2-percent in the $28.6-million budget to be voted on next month...  

 

School Superindent Maureen Donahue says the district received just over one-million dollars in additional aid -- above what was in the governor's budget -- in the final state budget.  Donahue says only about $166,000 of those additional funds will go towards Foundation -- or all-purpose aid.

 

Donahue says health insurance is up, and expenditures are up 4.8-percent, but the levy increase will only be about one-percent -- keeping it below the state's 2-percent property tax cap.  She adds there are also two propositions the school board approved to be on the ballot.  One of them is for spending $380,000 to buy three new buses.  The Southwestern Budget and propositions will be voted on Tuesday, May 15 from 7-9 a.m. and 2p.m..

 

 

The Southwestern School Board earlier this year agreed to put a measure up for referedum by the public libraries in Lakewood and Busti to establish a fund for both entities...  

 

School Superintendent Maureen Donahue says the proposal (which totals $204,000) will be one of the referendums on the ballot.  Donahue tells us that the money each needs has been taken out of the village and town budgets and will be up for a separate vote on May 15.  In a recent Post-Journal op-ed, the Lakewood Library Board president noted that $139,000 of the funding would go to Lakewood, while $65,000 would go to the Hazeltine Library.  Lakewood Library Director Mary Miller says -- if approved by the voters -- all residents of the Southwestern District would pay just over $16.00 a year on the average tax bill.

 

 

The 2018-19 petitions for the Jamestown School Board elections are due this Wednesday by 5 p.m.... 

 

District officials say there are two seats up for vote in the May 15 election.  Candidates will be seeking a three-year term on the board.  The two seats are currently held by Dan Johnson and Nina Karbacka.  The District Clerk is available any weekday through May 1 for voting registration at the Administration Building located at 197 Martin Road -- from 8 AM to 4 PM.  In addition, a public hearing on the district's 2018-19 Budget proposal will be held on May 8 at 6 p.m. in Persell Middle School.  For more information, call Jaunita Walter at 483-4420.