• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN VIA SOUNDCLOUD

Originally airing Thursday, May 23, 2019

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with newly appointed Robert H. Jackson Center president Kristan McMahon to learn more about her vision for the organization as well as some upcoming projects and programs that are taking shape for this summer.

Kristan McMahon

After an extensive national search led by a team of current board members, McMahon’s appointment was announced in April 2019. She will be responsible for leading the Jackson Center’s team of professionals while growing the scope, reach, and value of the organization to its local, regional, and national partners, the Jamestown community, donors and sponsors, volunteers, and other stakeholders.

“We are very excited that Kristan is taking on the role of President of the Jackson Center,” says Tom Schmidt, Chair of the Jackson Center Board and current interim President. “She brings a clear vision and an exceptional combination of energy, leadership, and a legal background. We expect that Kristan will be able to continue and grow our excellent programming, but also work with partners and donors to help bring Justice Jackson’s values and message to a wider audience. The Board of Directors is looking forward to establishing a strong working relationship with Kristan as she moves into this new role.”

McMahon joins the Jackson Center after nearly 20 years as a practicing attorney and brings a wide range of experience in the non-profit and association sector.

One of the hallmarks of her most recent work is the diversity and inclusion guidance she has provided to non-profits and associations over the last two years; she also brings significant non-profit board experience, on national and regional organizations. Most recently, McMahon was Principal of Vetted Solutions, a Washington, DC-based company focused on providing executive search solutions as well as diversity and inclusion and succession planning guidance to associations and non-profits across the United States. Prior to that, Kristan was Counsel-Antitrust for Verizon and a staff attorney with Howrey, LLP.

McMahon is a 1997 graduate of St. Bonaventure University and a 2000 graduate of The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law. She serves on the boards of Youth For Understanding, Sitar Arts Center, and American Association of University Women-Falls Church (VA) Branch. She previously served as a member of St. Bonaventure University’s Board of Trustees and as President of St. Bonaventure’s National Alumni Association Board.

“Justice Jackson’s values and guidance are just as relevant today as they were when he served as Solicitor General, Attorney General, Supreme Court Justice or chief prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials,” said Kristan. “He began as a successful lawyer in the Jamestown community and became a voice of conscience on the national and international stages. His commitment to social justice and civil liberties serve as a reminder for a world calling out for those qualities today. I am honored to work with our board, volunteers, and partners to ensure his wisdom continues to expand its reach.”

McMahon’s first day the Jackson Center was April 29.

The event, jointly sponsored by the Jamestown chapter of the American Association of University Women and the Political Science Department of Jamestown Community College, will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, in the Weeks Room at JCC.

During the event the audience will be able to question candidates for the Assembly, Republican incumbent Andrew Goodall and his Democrat challenger, Judy Einach, and also incumbent Democrat Sheriff Joseph Gerace and his Republican challenger, James Quattrone. Some of the candidates are sponsored by additional parties and will appear on more than one line on the ballot.

Time-keepers are strict about keeping the candidates’ statements brief so that many members of the audience can ask questions. Candidates are also encouraged to question one another in true debate form. The candidate events are free and open to the public.

A second Meet the Candidates event will also take place in the north county at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the courtroom in Dunkirk City Hall.

Winged Ox Actors Edward Cloverdale and Danica Olson-Walter rehearse for their upcoming performance in Henrik Ibsen’s classic A Doll’s House to be presented at the Willow Bay Theatre on October 12 and 13 along with 19 and 20.

JAMESTOWN – The Winged Ox Players will present Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” in a version by Zinnie Harris at the Willow Bay Theater, 21 E. Third St, Jamestown, on Fridays and Saturdays, Oct 12 and 13 as well as Oct. 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m.

• RELATED: WINGED OX PLAYERS DISCUSS ‘A DOLL’S HOUSE’ ON ARTS ON FIRE

A Doll’s House centers around the character of Nora Helmer and her family. Nora appears to be an upper middle-class lady with all comforts of her position, but she gradually realizes she is imprisoned by her role in society and the inequality of her marriage. In order to help her husband, she must illegally borrow money and then keep the repayment of the loan from her husband who would be unable to accept that his wife had helped in such a way. Her struggle gradually leads her to seek her own empowerment and humanity. Nora declares, ‘I am a human being before anything else. I don’t care what other people say. I need to think for myself.’

Directed by Winged Ox Veteran Steven Michael Cobb, the performance will feature several well-known local actors as well as a few new faces.

Cobb notes that he feels that A Doll’s House is the first true modern feminist drama, yet the central dilemma the play presents; how to be true to oneself while being married and being a parent, is not exclusive to women.

“In the central character of Nora, Ibsen epitomized the human struggle against the humiliating constraints of social conformity.” Cobb explains. “Nora’s ultimate rejection of a smothering marriage and life in ‘a doll’s house’ should be a familiar theme to most audiences.”

Before the show’s October 12 performance, the Winged Ox Players will host a Creativity and Connection Reception from 6:30-7:30 p.m. featuring Local Artists and Community Organizations such as the YWCA, AAUW, Zonta, and many more. The public is invited to come and meet women who are changing the local community. Light refreshments will be served.

Admission to all shows is free. All proceeds will benefit the Salvation Army’s ANEW Center.

The Winged Ox Players is a ministry of St. Luke’s that engages the theatrical talents of the greater Jamestown area to present plays that inspire conversations about our community. The non-profit group depends the generosity of friends and sponsors. Contributions received by the group help to offset their costs and enable them to donate back into the community. The group is currently looking for local businesses and individuals to sponsor one of the following expenses for their 2018-2019 season: $10/one script, $25/a can of paint, $50/some props, $100/licensing for one show night, $250/materials for set, $300/theatre rental for one night. All sponsors will be recognized in both the fall and spring playbill and on the Winged Ox Facebook page (Donations received after October 1^st will be listed in the spring playbill only). Sponsors of $300 or more will also have their logo or business name printed on posters and other promotional materials. Potential sponsors are asked to contact Willow Fodor, wfodor@gmail.com.

Marion Beckerink, Development Director of the Robert H. Jackson Center, will be the guest speaker on “Race, Gender, and Age: Voting Privilege Becomes Voting Right: 15th, 19th, and the 26th Amendments to the US Constitution.”

The presentation will be held in JCC’s Student Union at noon and is open to the public.

JCC professor Traci Langworthy (left) and Dr. Shannon Risk of Niagara University

BEMUS POINT – The Chautauqua County Historical Society, in partnership with the Bemus Point Historical Society, will present a special lecture on the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in New York State on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. at Bemus Point United Methodist Church (4954 Bemus – Ellery Rd, Bemus Point, NY).

Traci Langworthy, Historian and Jamestown Community College Professor, will join Dr. Shannon Risk, Niagara University History Professor, in a joint presentation outlining the women’s suffrage movement in New York State, which began in the mid-19th century and continued until women in the state were finally given the right to vote in 1917. Risk and Langworthy will also spend time focusing on notable suffragists and organizations that took root here in Western New York and Chautauqua County.

In addition to the presentation by Risk and Langworthy, a special reenactment will also take place featuring actual remarks that were made at the time by notable anti-suffragists, as presented by local actor Robert Terreberry, with a rebuttal that was originally prepared by suffragist Ophelia Griffith of the Fluvanna Political Equality Club, as portrayed by reenactor Kimberly Peterson Bentley.

Another highlight of the day’s event will be opening remarks from New York State Senator Catherine Young, whose 57th Senate District includes Chautauqua County. Chautauqua County Historical Society President and former editor of the Jamestown Post-Journal Cristie Herbst will host the event and welcome attendees.

“With 2017 serving as the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in New York State, we thought it fitting to have an event to focus on this important anniversary,” explains Jason Sample, Chautauqua County Historical Society trustee and programming committee chair. “Our county played a prominent role in the women’s suffrage movement and we look forward to sharing some of those details with attendees during this very special event.”

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) will also be on hand as a “friends of the event” to provide literature and details on its organization.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, call the Historical Society at (716) 326-2977 or email CCHS@McClurgMuseum.org.

The event will take place on Thursday, Jan. 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Community Room at the Prendergast library.

The program will focus specifically on the epidemic’s impact of women, how women can lead positive change, and action steps that can be taken in the community to address the epidemic.

The keynote speaker of the event is Kia Briggs, Executive Director of the Mental Health Association. Other panelists will include Lillian Ney, Julie Apperson, Leanna Luka-Conley, Lori Keller, and Heather Brown.

The event will also include scenes from the local play, Least Resistance, performed by the Winged Ox Players an outreach theater group of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will also be served. For more information call 490-2616.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning) (left) and John Plumb (D-Lakewood)

MAYVILLE – The two candidates for New York’s 23rd Congressional District were at Chautauqua Lake Central School Tuesday night, Nov. 1 to participate in the second of two scheduled debates.

The forum, hosted by the Chautauqua County League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women, featured both Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning) and challenger John Plumb (D-Lakewood).

Reed told the audience that he feels the biggest challenge facing residents of the 23rd district is a lack of economic opportunity – which is something he’s been working to help bring to the southern tier since he was first elected in 2010. Plumb said that the biggest challenge facing residents is the dysfunction that can currently be found in Washington DC, and he said the Reed has shown he’s been a part of that ongoing dysfunction.

• LISTEN TO THE CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY LOWV DEBATE, FROM NOV. 1
• WATCH THE WETM DEBATE FROM FRIDAY, OCT. 28

A variety of issues were covered during the debate, including The Affordable Care Act, the Second Amendment, conservation and environmentalism, social security, and veterans’ services.

When it came to the Affordable Care Act, Reed stood by his effort to repeal the healthcare plan, which he says has failed thousands of residents in the district.

“What we’re seeing, is it’s driving people out of the healthcare insurance market because you’ve got 25 percent premium increases, which just came out the other day,” Reed said. “At the town halls I’ve been at, I’ve seen the impact of these laws. People say, ‘Tom, I can afford the deductible. I can’t afford the co-pay. I can’t afford to go see the doctor. What is so good about this law?'”

Plumb also acknowledged that the affordable care act has not worked the way it was intended, but also said that instead of repealing the law, Tom Reed and the rest of his colleagues in congress should have focused on improving it.

“My opponent has voted 63 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, with no plan to replace it or fix it,” Plumb said. “That is making it worse every single time. It’s wasting our time. It’s wasting our taxpayer dollars and you know, we’re paying him to go to congress to do thsese things. The fact is, if we had improved this thing 63 times, maybe we would be somewhere right now.”

Both Plumb and Reed also addressed the issue of the second amendment and how to deal with violent gun incidents. Plumb said that he is a supporter of the second amendment and feels that requiring universal background checks for all gun purchases doesn’t infringe on the constitutional law, nor does banning gun ownership from those who are suspected of terrorism.

Reed said that he also favors limiting access of weapons to convicted felons, but said that government should focus on the mental health associated with individuals who are capable of committing violent crimes rather than resort to universal background checks. He also took Plumb to task for failing to receive a positive grade from the NRA….

“NRA endorsed us and gave us an ‘A’ rating. My opponent didn’t even bother to fill out the questionnaire and has a question mark from the NRA. What that means to the NRA is you are openly hostile to the second amendment going forward,” Reed said.

In response, Plumb said that as a military trained sharp shooter for both pistol and rifle, and as a lifelong hunter, he believes his experience and history when it comes to firearms speaks for itself.

“I do not need to fill out a silly questionnaire to get my credentials on my ability to use and safely handle a weapon. I’ve been doing it most of my life,” Plumb responded. “The fact is, I am a strong defender of the second amendment. I’m a hunter. I’m a firearms owner. And I defend the second amendment and all of the amendments – I’ve sworn an oath to that – and I’ve been doing it for 22 years in the United States Navy.”

The two candidates also commented on their choice for president. Plumb has supported Hillary Clinton since the beginning of her bid for president, while Reed has endorsed Donald Trump since the spring. Reed said that while he doesn’t always agree with Trump, he strongly feels that choosing Clinton will take the country in the wrong direction.

“When he has said things that we disagree with, we have called him out on that and said we disagree and that’s just plain wrong,” Reed said. “But when we are talking about the Supreme Court of the United States, I can assure you Donald Trump will put Supreme Court  Justices on the Court that will do what the court should do – interpret and enforce the Constitution, not what Hillary Clinton and my opponent wants to do with his support of her: carry out a progressive agenda.”

In response, Plumb said that he disagrees with how Clinton has handled her email scandal and there are no excuses for it. But, he said she is still a far better choice than Trump.

“I’m not going to defend Hillary Clinton on the email server and the use of the server. That’s is just a terrible mistake and she should never have done that. With that said, I can not possible align myself with someone who disrespects disabled people, who mocks prisoners of war and who mocks fallen soldiers, and then boasts about sexual assault. This is not someone who should be leading the country,” Plumb said.

The two candidates addressed various issues for an hour. Both were pleased with their performances and felt the forum gave them an opportunity to highlight their platform while also illustrating why they should be elected to represent the district.

Plumb is challenging Reed (R-Corning) for his seat in Congress. Over the past two decades he’s served as a submarine officer in the Navy and later as an official at the Department of Defense. Most recently he’s served as director of defense policy and strategy at the National Security Council. He graduated from Randolph High School in 1988.

Reed is an attorney and former mayor of Corning who was elected to Congress in 2010 and has represented Chautauqua County since January 2013, when redistricting created the new boundaries for the state’s 23rd congressional district.