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Archived stories from Tuesday, August 7, 2007 through Saturday, October 6, 2007
A note to our readers: Yes, this is the old template from 2004. I decided to give it a trial run. And thus far, I like it-- a lot.

Fall Foliage Report: Week of October 3
As we proceed further into the fall season, we begin to see the first signs of past-peak foliage in the middle Adirondacks, while the outer Adirondacks and the inner Catskills are currently at their peaks and the Tug Hill and outer Catskills regions sit currently at near peak. Meanwhile, most of the state lies at "mid-point."
Source: ILoveNY.com


ASSEMBLYMAN TEDISCO TO SPITZER: YOU HAVE 29 DAYS... OR I WILL SEE YOU IN COURT (AP)...

And the hits just keep on coming: More arbitrary "fly over with a helicopter over private land and steal anything you deem illegal" (Sharon Turano, Jamestown Post-Journal)... (10/3)

Bears gone wild and the consequences: a tale of your government dollars at work from the Olean Times-Herald... (10/1)

Still not getting over it: Forty years later, the Seneca Nation continues their self-absorbed protests of the Kinzua Dam. Never mind that without it, flood damage would have skyrocketed. (Salamanca Press) (10/1)

Fall Foliage Report: Week of September 27
With another week, we are starting to really see the colors appear with significant vibrance. Areas in the Adirondacks are approaching peak color; the area due east of Lake Ontario, the Catskills, and areas of southwestern New York are nearing "midpoint." The rest of upstate New York remains classified as "just changing." (Sorry for posting late, it's been a busy week.)

Salamanca man arrested for growing 11 pot plants on his property found in a flyover... where was the warrant and probable cause??? (WESB)... (9/27)

OBIT: Marcel Marceau, 84. Arguably the most famous mime in the world. (9/23)

As of 5:51 this morning, summer is over and it is officially autumn. I love this season. (9/23)

This ought to piss you off royally: Governor Eliot Spitzer in all his infinite wisdom has decided to throw out citizenship/legal residency requirements for driver's licenses in New York State, which would 1) allow illegal aliens to get driver's licenses in New York and 2) virtually invalidate every driver's license in New York as an instrument of ID when crossing the border and even boarding an airplane (AP)... You have no idea how much I am PISSED OFF ROYALLY about this idea.

Not good news if your name is "Borgheiinck" (WESB)... (9/21)

Fall Foliage Report: Week of September 20
Most of upstate New York, except for portions of the Southern Tier and some spots along Lake Ontario, has been listed as "just changing." The Adirondacks have progressed to "midpoint" as the fall colors begin to emerge.
Source: I Love NY

From WPIG: "Members of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force seized about 60 marijuana plants in the Towns of Mansfield and Salamanca during an air search of the region yesterday.  The pot had a street value of 75 thousand dollars." Did they have a warrant to search and seize that property, which is most likely private? I doubt it. (9/20)
 
Heads up: Today is "primary day" in New York state. The most prominent primary elections will be those for county legislature. In Little Valley, current mayor and incumbent legislator Norm Marsh and former legislator John Zimbardi are facing each other in a GOP primary. Polls close at 9 PM. (9/18) UPDATE: Results...

OBIT: Brett Somers, 83. One of the first "D-list" celebrities and perennial panelist on the hit game show "Match Game." (9/18)
FULLER: What is going on here-- is this a game show holocaust going on-- first Charles Nelson Reilly, then Merv Griffin, and now Brett?? Next thing you know, Bob Barker's going to turn up dead. Or maybe Richard Dawson.
You heard it here first: And now ESPN and the Philadelphia Eagles are finally picking up on it-- the New England Patriots cheated during Super Bowl XXXIX. (9/14)

Fall foliage report: Week of September 13
Yes, it's that time of year again, time for the weekly "fall foliage report." As can be expected, there is a small amount of change in the Adirondacks but very little of note in the rest of the state, including Cattaraugus County. Fall foliage reports will be updated weekly and are normally obtained from the State of New York's official site, although FoliageNetwork.com and Weather.com also provide reports. While I'm on the topic of fall, I'd like to mention that Pumpkinville opens this Saturday. (9/13)

No conflict of interest here-- right... four New York State judges are claiming they had their constitutional rights violated because the legislature wouldn't give them a raise! So what are they going to do? Sue! (New York Times)... (9/13)
OH, AND GUESS WHAT: One of the four judges is from none other than Cattaraugus County-- family court judge Michael Nenno. (Gary Nease, WPIG)

(9/11)

Progress on the US 219 bridge project from the Olean Times Herald... (9/10)

The Senecas' latest business: professional boxing. (Salamanca Press) (9/8)

OBIT: Luciano Pavarotti, 71. World famous opera singer.

OBIT: D. James Kennedy, famous moral values evangelist.

Eliot Spitzer's advice to journalists: "Get a life, buddy." (New York Daily News) (9/5)

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY: The New York State Police shamelessly and sickeningly put several of its own men in the line of fire and baited a potentially dangerous petty criminal. The result? One dead trooper and a martyr for the State Police State. Pathetic. (WESB) (8/31)

Another example of the Downward Spiral: Uni-Mart, the Village of Little Valley's only 24-hour convenience store, is no longer a 24-hour store. It has elected to shorten its hours from 5:30am-11pm. (8/29)

OBIT: Richard Jewell, 44. The man who was wrongfully accused of the 1996 Olympic Park bombings. (8/29)

LITTLE VALLEY BOARD NOTES.
The Little Valley village board meeting took an unexpectedly confrontational turn Tuesday, August 28. Todd Fuller, in what has become a regular appearance at these meetings, began by praising Lefeber for maintaining the trail, but reiterated his stance on enforcing the village codes. At that point, board member Dawn Nyznyk angrily stormed out of the room not to return. Fuller then turned his attention to public works head Dave Reynolds, and the issue of lighting at the Cattaraugus-Little Valley school. After some heated argument (Reynolds insisting that Fuller said "fixtures," according to my records he said nothing of the sort), it was revealed that the village was in fact installing bulbs at the athletic fields in Cattaraugus.
The next visitor was Bob Baase, who came in to address some fire department issues, particularly an instance where a fire department vehicle was rented out for hire outside the fire district.. Marsh stated to Baase that the village, although it appoints the fire commissioners, has no jurisdiction over the Board of Fire Commissioners. (On that one, however, it was revealed that ousted village board member Kevin Mosher was granted a spot on said board.)
After the visitors, the board addressed some relatively minor issues. The pool will be closing Sunday, although possibly with shortened hours since two of the lifeguards will have gone off to college by that point. $234 was waived from the sewer bill of a property on 403 Fair Oak St. after a water heater broke resulting in 78,000 gallons of water being released.

Alberto Gonzales has resigned his post as Attorney General, confirmed.

Get ready for the next state police money grab highway ticket blitz in New York:
From WPIG's Gary Nease: Cell Phone Drivers, Beware
It’s called taking action against driver distraction. From now until Friday, sheriff’s deputies promise to focus their attention on what you are doing while you are driving. Cattaraugus County Sheriff Dennis John said cell phone use is the number one cause of driver distraction. Sheriff John said driver inattention contributed to 25 percent of police-reported crashes in 2003. That’s according to research done by the National Highway Traffic Administration. The sheriff said cell phone distraction among drivers is getting worse. He said only a few seconds of driver inattention can result in an accident.
From the Jamestown Post-Journal: I would consider this an act of war... (8/25)

Another year... another surplus for Cattaraugus County, this from WPIG's Gary Nease: (8/23)
Good Fiscal News For Cattaraugus County
A state audit of the Cattaraugus County budget shows a surplus of nearly $20-million, as of December 31st, 2006. County lawmakers reviewed the report yesterday in Little Valley. Legislator Paul Schafer of Olean said the “true surplus” is actually lower, more like $16-million, since some of the money has already been spent. In other action yesterday, lawmakers approved a pay raise for part-time employees, and voted to extend the extra one-percent sales tax that covers highway expenses.
From the Associated Press: Should we get rid of the penny? (I say heck yes...) (8/18)

Talk about obnoxious: This little tidbit from WPIG's Gary Nease:
Toy Recall InfoToys containing lead deemed to be hazardous are being removed from stores in New York State. The federal recall announced earlier is voluntary, so the New York State Health Department has stepped in to make sure the toys are removed. That’s according to the office of Governor Eliot Spitzer. They’re also asking day care providers to check their toys against the recall list. Information on the Mattel toy recall can be obtained by calling 1-800-697-1220.
In other words... the feds said it's "voluntary," but New York says "we don't care... we're making it mandatory." Oy vey... (8/20)

The definition of "trailer trash": A South Dayton woman was charged this week with bigamy after she tried to marry a third husband without divorcing the second (WGRZ)... among the sordid details: "the couple married on Valentine's Day 2006 in their trailer home in South Dayton," and it turns out it was the third husband that busted the whole thing. (Third marriage by age 31 is another thing I'm impressed with... she's like the village bicycle...) (8/18)

Canada seems to be getting the message: Even our Neighbours to the North are starting to crack down on foreign travel with new passport requirements. The Fort Erie strippers aren't happy (Toronto Star)... (8/16) Message to Chertoff: Still thinking the passport requirement between the US and Canada is a good idea?

OBIT: Merv Griffin (82). A renaissance man-- singer, talk show host, and producer of game shows.
OBIT: Phil Rizzuto (89). Famous radio broadcaster famous for his phrase "holy cow."

LITTLE VALLEY BOARD NOTES.
Both the Town and Village boards held meetings this past week. The town went over the usual rubber-stamp affairs filed out in paperwork, but a revealing conversation about the upcoming bicentennial celebration set to take place in 2008. Conversation quickly turned to the village; personally, many of the town board members have found it very difficult, if not impossible, to work with the village, and it is revealed that the bicentennial commission has been reluctant to use village areas for the celebration.
Todd Fuller made yet another appearance at the village board meeting, this time to follow up with the discussion of horse manure on the trail and ask about a lighting purchase made under the village's IEEP. Other than that, the only significant discussion was regarding public works-- the water main break that occurred on August 4 was repaired behind schedule; Reynolds and Marsh complained that equipment used to fix it was too weak and too small for the job and that bigger equipment should be considered.

So that's what this is all about: Attorney General Andrew Cuomo stated this week that he wants, as the New York Sun puts it, "broad jurisdiction and subpoena powers, enabling it to launch criminal investigations of the governor, his staff, and other state officials." (A power grab. From a Cuomo. Who'd'a thunk?)... (8/13)

But who's going to tell us what happened to Bat Boy? The Weekly World News, the infamous spoof of supermarket tabloids that featured famous stories as "Bat Boy," "Elvis is Alive," Bigfoot, aliens, coming signs of apocalyptic disasters, the latest findings from the Titanic (including gay lovers and living babies), and various figures of speech literalized, has discontinued its run of 28 years. (8/12)

Ames, Iowa straw poll: In a news item of the "water is wet" category, Mitt Romney won the poll, with the order being the following after that: Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul, Tommy Thompson... four candidates did not put many resources into the race and finished 7-10, those were Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter and John McCain respectively. Judging by indications made before the race this would indicate Tommy Thompson, who was looking for a top-2 finish, is out of the race, while Tancredo, who looked for a top-4 finish, will stay in. (8/12)

The investigation of Eliot Spitzer to continue (AP)... (8/10)

Wind farms will be allowed in the town of Carrollton (WESB)... (8/9)

GOOD FARM NEWS... FROM THE AP? This year's apple crop is expected to be "outstanding" (AP)... (8/7)

OBIT: Daniel Case, 53. The Little Valley resident was killed in a car crash after getting out of his car during a fender-bender and being run over by a bypassing car. (8/7)

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