January 1, 2010
History happens one day at a time – and nowhere is that better chronicled than a daily newspaper.
The decade that was saw some 3,600 editions of The Post-Journal make their way to the public. Some were joyous, like the edition devoted to the rainy May 2003 day when Chief Justice William Rehnquist descended upon Jamestown to help dedicate the Robert H. Jackson Center – a rare visit by a sitting U.S. Supreme Court chief justice seen by thousands of area residents and covered in breathtaking detail in our pages.
Other days weren’t so joyous.
The community came together to express its grief in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, whether it was in churches, at vigils at Tracy Plaza in downtown Jamestown or in the lobby of The Post-Journal, where area residents came to pick up any scraps of information or one of the multiple editions printed that fateful day.
We expressed shock at heinous crimes we thought would never make their way to our county, another reminder that the 2000s were a decade much different than any that had preceded it.
There was also much good news, such as the grand announcement that Cummins Inc. was expanding operations at its Jamestown Engine Plant or that Johnny’s Lunch was going to bring affordable lunches to families throughout the nation.
In the following pages are, in no particular order, some of the most memorable stories to find their way onto a few of the 3,600 editions to roll off our presses throughout the decade.
SEPT. 11, 2001
Shortly after the news that two airplanes had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, area residents flocked to churches and public vigils, and messages were left on the wall that surrounds Tracy Plaza on Third Street in Jamestown.
On United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane to crash into the World Trade Center, was Amy King of Celoron, a flight attendant working out of Boston’s Logan Airport.
”She was very positive, very outgoing,” said Kellie King, Amy King’s sister. ”She loved to have a good time, loved to laugh. At first (in the time following her death) those things are very hard to do. But, I’m able to do that more.”
In the years since the attacks, the King family has established Amy’s Run, held near Thanksgiving every year to raise money for the Amy King Kids Fund, which helps send youth to day camp and pays for a Southwestern Central School scholarship in Ms. King’s name.
“It’s a big honor,” said Ms. King’s sister, Kellie. “It’s just important to us that her memory stays alive and we can help out the community by helping out kids.”
MURDER OF ROBERT OLDS
On Dec. 8, 2000, the first year of the new decade came to a shocking close when Robert Olds, 42, of Sugar Grove was found dead on a remote stretch of road in Kiantone. Steven Bush Jr., 21, of Frewsburg and Nicholas Osman, 19, of Kennedy were charged with second-degree murder in the case. Olds stopped to help Bush and Osman when he saw an overturned taxi-van on the corner of South Main Street Ext. and Donelson Road when he was beaten to death with a tree limb.
A jury ruled Osman was guilty after seven days of testimony, and he was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the crime. Bush’s trial ended Dec. 8, 2000, with his conviction of murder and robbery. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
”Who would do this to a man who was just trying to help,” said Michael Steppe, Olds’ brother-in-law, in a statement prior to Osman’s sentencing. ”How will (his wife) explain to their daughter the evil cruelty that took her father’s life? This was heinous and cruel, cold-blooded and without reason.”
CUMMINS COMES THROUGH
On Oct. 10, 2002, Cummins Inc. officials put the minds of hundreds of Jamestown Engine Plant employees at rest by saying the company was consolidating the heavy duty engine assembly and test operations from its Columbus, Ind., plant to the Jamestown Engine Plant, adding 250 jobs at the Jamestown plant immediately. The move came at a time when Cummins was posting poorer than expected financial numbers and had undergone several layoffs.
”I think it’s good,” said Lynn McIntyre, an assembly line worker. ”I was worried about getting laid off in January Now I don’t have to worry about that. They said this morning they’re going to call most of the people back or all of them if they don’t already have jobs. That’s great too.”
Employees at the plant had been convinced the plant might be closed altogether until the company’s announcement, which was attended by Gov. George Pataki.
”Everybody’s just thrilled,” said Jeff Bielata. ”Everybody was worried for a long time, but everybody’s happy to see this come inside and outside of here. Job security was the big question for a long time here.”
THE GERRY MURDERS
At 10:30 p.m. May 23, 2001, Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene of a double homicide that claimed the lives of Johnny T. Houston, 22, of Charlotte, N.C., and Richard M. Alicea Jr., 19, of 104 Isabella Ave., Jamestown, at the intersection of Harris Hill and 28 Creek roads, Gerry. Early during the investigation, Sheriff Joe Gerace said Houston and Alicea had apparently been targeted. It took two years for a fuller picture to emerge when three secret indictments were handed up by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury charging Gregory Pattison, 32, of Jamestown, Daniel Diaz, 35, of Mexico and Aaron Pike, 26, of Jamestown with first-degree murder in the case. According to the indictments, Pattison was contracted by Diaz and Pike to kill Alicea, a father of two children who took care of a third child, and Houston, a friend of Alicea’s who was visiting his brother in Jamestown.
During the trial, it was discovered Alicea and Houston were killed over $80,000 in drugs and $80,000 in cash. Despite being an admitted drug dealer, Jodi Dickinson, Alicea’s mother, said her son had gone to the police to come clean before his death.
Pattison’s conviction has been overturned by the Fourth Appellate Division in Rochester on a technicality, but he is still in federal prison on marijuana trafficking convictions. Pike was also sentenced to life in prison while Diaz pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
”It is impossible to tell you how this has impacted my life and the lives of Richie’s immediate family,” said Jodi Dickerson, Alicea’s mother.
”He seen death happen and he knew he was going to die a horrible death,” she said. ”Imagine the terror he felt.”
FIRST STREET FIRE
More than 100 firefighters from eight area fire departments battled a fire that destroyed the El Greco Furniture building on First Street, Jamestown, on Jan. 29, 2004. Firefighters from Lakewood, Celoron, Busti, Falconer, Gerry, Mayville and Fluvanna were on the scene while firefighters from Kennedy, Falconer, Fredonia and Stockton were on standby.
”Obviously, it’s devastating -a substantial loss. What we are seeing tonight, though, is the true meaning of community. We’ve had a tremendous response from firefighters. It’s overwhelming to me to see this kind of mutual aid response. This is a textbook example of why we have mutual aid. My heart goes out to the building owner and the business owners and my admiration goes out to firefighters. This fire is going to take a couple of days of monitoring.”
By March, 30, 2006, however, El Greco was back in business after moving to 608 Allen St.
”With the help of a supportive community, we buckled down and did what we had to do to be shipping again within weeks of the fire, and then we had all kinds of rebuilding and planning to do; there just wasn’t any time to think about re-opening the store,” said Alexis (Theofilactidis) Singleton, El Greco Baby and Kids co-owner.
MISSING PERSONS CASES
Several missing persons cases remain unsolved over the past decade, including two area residents who went missing after Jan. 1, 2000.
Yolanda Bindics was last seen at about 8:20 p.m. August 10, 2004, outside the Family Dollar store on Washington Street. Her car was then found outside Arby’s on Washington Street on Aug. 11, and despite numerous searches throughout the area, it was more than two years between her disappearance and the discovery of Ms. Bindics’ body near a hiking trail in the woods near Charlotte. In the intervening time, police searched the Fluvanna Avenue corridor, the woods around Jones and Gifford Avenue, the county landfill in Ellery and the Chautauqua Gorge without turning up evidence of what happened to Ms. Bindics.
While Yolanda’s family has closure, they are still waiting for charges to be brought against her killer.
”It sounds to me, based on everything they’ve said and done and found, that they should have plenty to make an arrest. … It gets so frustrating,” said Anne Chmielewski, Yolanda’s sister, in a 2007 edition of The Post-Journal. ”They’re supposed to know. Then what’s the problem? Where does the issue lie?”
Investigators are also looking for any evidence of Corrie Anderson, a Busti woman who has been missing since Oct. 28, 2008, when she left the Lake County Dodge dealership on Washington Street.
”Every minute of every day, finding her is the one thing I think about,” said Scott Baker, Ms. Anderson’s brother. ”Our family has been up early and searched on our own in Chautauqua and Warren counties every single day since she disappeared. Someone has to know or have seen something and we are praying that no matter how small the piece of information might be, they call the state police because it might be the one thing that helps us find her.”
And, while Corrie Anderson’s family searches for answers, the family of Lori Bova also waits for answers 12 years after the Lakewood woman’s disappearance. While the trail may have gone cold, Paul Gustafson of the Lakewood-Busti Police Department continues reviewing the file and searching for new evidence to bring the case to a close.
‘‘We keep going and hoping, praying that our prayers will be answered someday,” said Jim Ceci, Lori’s father, in a 2003 story. ”We love and miss her very much. It’s very difficult. Holidays, and every day, go by nd we think about it all the time. We hope that answers will come in our lifetime.”
CHIEF JUSTICE REHNQUIST VISITS
It was May 17, 2003, when the Robert H. Jackson Center was officially dedicated as a center to advance Jackson’s legacy through education, exhibits and presentations – with one of Jackson’s former law clerks and the then-Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court as the guest of honor.
Chief Justice Rehnquist affirmed Jackson’s role as the chief prosecutor of the Nuremberg War Crimes trials to be the crown jewel of Jackson’s career during a nearly 20-minute speech from a stage at the back of the Jackson Center that generated three standing ovations.
”Surely, Jamestown can be proud of the career of their native son, both on the national and international scene,” Rehnquist said.
While it’s hard to beat bringing the sitting Chief Justice to Jamestown, the Jackson Center has filled its mission over the year, bringing such luminaries as Nicholas deb Katzenbach, the Cheryl Brown Thompson and Linda Brown, the sisters from the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that ended school segregation; scores of Nuremberg interrogators, guards, prosecutors and other officials; Fred Korematsu, whose lawsuit in Korematsu v. United States attacked Japanese internment; branching out to the Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C., with yearly visits and programs in the nation’s capitol; and roundtable discussions with law clerks involved in the drafting of notable Supreme Court decisions, including Brown v. Board of Education.
But, with all the center has accomplished, it is its dedication ceremony that shows just how important a player it is in the world of legal education.
”I think Rehnquist’s coming legitimizes the vision of the board of directors when the contemplated founding a center to preserve the legacy of Justice Jackson,” said Gregory Peterson, Jackson Center board president, in a 2003 story. ”Clearly, having the chief justice make a rare appearance in Jamestown is a tribute to our native son, Robert Jackson. I think the stature of (Rehnquist’s) office will elevate the recognition the center receives. It enhances our credibility.”
WAR ON TERROR:
CHARLES COOPER and J.C. MATTESON
On Nov. 12, 2004, the War on Terror claimed its first local victim in the form os U.S. Army Sgt. J.C. Matteson of Celoron, killed in action when his Humvee took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade that struck the Humvee’s turret, where Hatteson was posted as truck commander for his squad.
”He died a hero … fighting,” his mother, Joyce Reynolds, said during Matteson’s funeral. ”America and the world have a choice to lie down and surrender to terror or stand and choose to fight. Our family chose to stand and fight … we will not waver, we will not falter. We will see this through.”’
”He was always faithful, right to the end,” said James Matteson, Matteson’s father. ”He was worried about his men in Iraq -his duty to his men … that’s my boy.”
Then, on April 29, 2005, Pfc. Charles Cooper of Jamestown was killed when a makeshift bomb exploded near his patrol unit. Cooper had received a Purple Heart from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on April 12, 2005, for wounds received in another bomb attack.
”He made it and he did good,” Charles Cooper Sr. said. ”We all backed him up.”
”Charlie was a son, and a good one,” said Joe Yelich, Jamestown High School principal, during Cooper’s eulogy. ”He was a brother, and a good one. He was fa friend, and a good one. He was a student and a good one. He set his sights on graduation and he made it – I know this because I handed him his diploma last June.”
JAMESTOWN SAVINGS BANK ICE ARENA OPENS
While the process to clear the land and plan for the arena’s construction began in the late 1990s, the facility was dedicated on a bright and blustery October day in 2002.
”I want you to use your imaginations because we were asked to use our imagination a few years ago about an ice arena project and a Chadakoin building project,” said Mayor Sam Teresi during the arena’s dedication ceremony. ”Use your imaginations again, because the people that pulled together to make this happen are pulling together again to make everything happen around us. It’s going to be a community effort again.”
In the late 1990s, the city purchased the land and moved the 11 businesses that inhabited the site. Once the land was cleared and construction bids determined, construction began in May 2001, bringing a variety of cranes, flatbed trucks with steel beams and concrete trucks to the site every day. Bit by bit, the arena took shape until, in October, it was ready for the public.
In the years since, the arena has played host to premium World Wrestling Entertainment events, concerts by such notables as Kenny Rogers, Aaron Tippin and Michael W. Smith, the North Atlantic Figure Skating Championships, regional hockey tournaments and become home to the Jamestown Jets, a Northern Junior Hockey League team.
”I would just like to take the opportunity to thank the board for its courage and commitment and caring for the community that led the foundation to spearhead this,” said Dr. Lillian Vitanza Ney, then president of the Gebbie Foundation, which led several area foundations to finance the project. ”The actual fact is this wouldn’t have been possible without all the other foundations. In truth, this is a renaissance for our city. It does mark a rebirth.”
THE HUNT FOR RALPH PHILLIPS
Throughout the summer of 2006, Chautauqua County residents couldn’t turn their heads without a possible Ralph Phillips sighting.
The madness started when Phillips escaped from the Erie County Corrections Facility in Alden, cutting through the roof with a can opener on April 2. From April to June, he was suspected in several hunting cabin break-ins in Erie, Allegany and Cattaraugus counties. A stolen pick-up truck in Allegany County ends up in Ohio, where another vehicle is stolen, and police suspect Phillips is involved. He is also allegedly spotted in and around Sinclairville, Stockton, Randolph, Great Valley and Bradford, Pa.
On June 10, State Trooper Sean Brown was shot in the stomach after pulling over a Ford Mustang outside Elmira. The vehicle is found June 11 and a Chevrolet pick-up truck is reported stolen nearby. The hunt for Phillips then turned its focus back toward Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, as state troopers descended upon the area with checkpoints throughout the Cassadaga and Sinclairville areas. On Aug. 24: Kasey Crowe of 4710 Bachellor Hill Road, Patrina Wright, Crowe and Phillips’ daughter, and Richard Catanese were all charged with helping Phillips.
On Aug. 27, the State Police and county Sheriff’s Department investigated a burglary at Tom’s Sports in Ellington which they say may have been committed by Phillips. Deputies are also investigating the theft of a Dodge Intrepid a few miles away from the gun shop. Neither report is linked together, though deputies say the incidents fit Phillips’ behavior pattern.
The search increased in its intensity when two state troopers were shot in the Bear Lake area near Cassadaga with Phillips believed to be the prime suspect. State police begin searching all vehicles entering I-90 and crossing the border into Pennsylvania. On Sept. 8, with hundreds of troopers from throughout the state now searching for Phillips, the fugitive was caught. At 1:55 a.m., a car is reported stolen and pursued by two Warren County Sheriff’s Deputies. The car crashes in the woods and the man driving escapes. Throughout the day, Frewsburg schools are in lockdown. At 2:30 a.m., another car is stolen, and the man jumps from the vehicle and escapes into the woods. At 7:30 a.m., a perimeter is set up from Frewsburg to Akeley, Pa. and, at 9:10 a.m., a state trooper and dog tracked Phillips down and fired several shots.
The trail was quiet until 6:16 p.m., when police radio reported a man crouched by a fence row. At 6:23 p.m., radio communication began the second phase of the search until, finally, at 7:56 p.m., the man stepped out from the tree line. By 8 p.m., it was confirmed police had caught Phillips.
On Nov. 29, Phillips begins appearing in court, where he pleads guilty to killing one state trooper and wounding another in the Cassadaga shootings. He receives life in prison. The plea is also expected to keep his family members, arrested for allegedly helping Phillips during his run, stay out of jail. On Dec. 12, Phillips withdrew his guilty plea because he had heard a special cell was being built for him and that he would be locked up 23 hours a day. Despite his efforts to withdraw his plea, Phillips was sentenced Dec. 19. He was also sentenced Dec. 19 in Elmira for the shooting of Trooper Sean Brown.
”As I told you tonight, we do get our people,” said Wayne Bennett, then New York State Police superintendent. ”You can’t be shooting at the people who protect society – that cannot be tolerated. This miserable creature will spend the rest of his life in the New York state penal system.”
MURDERS ROCK REGION
The area has also been rocked by its share of killings over the last 10 years, including the recent in the death of 3-year-old Auston Morales of Jamestown in October. The toddler’s death has been ruled a homicide, though no charges have been filed.
In another unsolved case, Quincy Turner, 33, of Jamestown was murdered May 30, 2008, on Girts Road near the Chautauqua County Airport. While there have been no charges, police looked for three suspects immediately after the shooting, allegedly driving a tan or champagne-colored Chevrolet Malibu, perhaps between model years 2002 or 2004, that was seen leaving the scene of the shooting.
”Regardless of their station in life, no one deserves to be murdered. We want to provide answers,” said David Foley, county district attorney, in a June 8, 2008, story.
Two youths were charged with the murder of Dusty Elderkin on Dec. 15, 2007, after deputies were called to a Bloomer Road residence in Stockton for a report of a possible murder. Lyman Whitmore, 16, the older of the two youths charged in the case, was sentenced to nine years to life in prison by County Court Judge John Ward while a 14-year-old accomplice who helped police corroborate evidence and cooperate with the investigation was sentenced five years in a secure detention facility in Chautauqua County Family Court, the maximum sentence allowed by law.
LANDMARK EXPANSION
In January 2007, Johnny’s Lunch officials announced the Jamestown-based business was going west, one hot dog at a time.
Within the year, Johnny’s planned to open three new stores in Toledo, Ohio, and Detroit, Mich., with restaurants planned down the East Coast to Florida and eventually even reaching to California. First opened by John Colera in 1936 in the Hotel Humphrey in Jamestown’s Brooklyn Square, Johnny’s plans 1,100 new restaurants by 2022.
”We are trying to make the right decisions and not grow too fast or too slow,” said Tony Calamunci in an Oct. 14, 2008, story. ”We want to hit our stride – and we think we’re close to it – and get Johnny’s open across the country so people can enjoy our product.”
Missing Lori Bova 