Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the application process for $373 million in Heating Energy Assistance Program monies is now open in New York State.

The funds are for low- and middle-income New Yorkers who need assistance keeping their homes warm during the upcoming winter season.

The state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance oversees the HEAP program and provides federal funding to assist homeowners and renters with their heating costs during the weather.

Eligible homeowners and renters may receive up to $751 in heating assistance, depending on their income, household size and how they heat their home.

Governor Hochul also made $150 million in federal funding available to help low-income households pay heating utility arrears if they do not qualify for the that assistance under New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The one-time payments will cover all accumulated heating utility arrears up to $10,000 per household, with applications for assistance accepted at local departments of social services in person or by telephone.

Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Customer and Information Services Manager Frank Galeazzo said after the state of emergency ended in June, the BPU gained the ability to shut off water and electric for past due balances. He said they’ve had success with that, “We had shut off approximately 1,000 customers since July, mid-July, and that totaled about $700,000 worth of past due balances. And we’ve collected about $500,000.”

Galeazzo said the BPU is still working to help customers with past due accounts, “They’ve either paid off their arrears, which is great. We’ve been working with them setting up special payment arrangements. We’ve been pointing them in directions to seek assistance whether it’s through any of the state of federal programs.”

Those looking for assistance with past due BPU bills may contact the BPU at (716) 661-1660, visit them online at jamestownbpu.com, or visit mybenefits.ny.gov.

The resolution gave the approval to the District to hire a graphic designer and a trademark attorney for a logo and mascot redesign as well as approved discontinuing the use of the “J with the feathers” on school buildings and athletic fields, and to replace all uniforms provided by the school with the imagery. School Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said the “J” on the back of Jamestown High School will be changed as part of the planned capital projects while a number of uniforms have already been replaced at the modified level.

Board member Nina Karbacka had made the motion to change the name of “Red Raiders,” “I feel that though that name had historically not represented Native Americans, it has represented Native Americans for 50 years and is very closely associated with that. And I feel that our board and school system has a strong feeling of inclusivity and respect for our students and that name does not reflect that.”

Board President Paul Abbott said he supports keeping the “Red Raiders” name as it’s been in use since the 1940s, “I look to what the origins were that our committee brought forward to us. That we were the Red and Green Raiders, that we previously had a panther as our logo, that it was shortened to Red Raiders. It is unfortunate, hindsight being 20-20, that it evolved the way that it did.”

Board member Pat Slagle said when changing the mascot was being discussed in 2014, the idea of changing the name of “Red Raiders” was brought up, “At that time we didn’t have the research or history of the committee working, so I was torn of the same idea. Red Raiders – Do we keep that name? Is it based on Native American imagery or connotations? And I think Coach Drake came forward with some evidence dating back to the ’40s and that helped convinced me that the name is not tied to Native American imagery.”

Board member Joe Pawelski, who sat on the Mascot committee, said they’ll be seeking community, faculty, and student input on what the new logo and mascot should be.

The Jamestown School Board also swore in Frank Galeazzo as one of its new members and Nina Karbacka as a returning member at its Reorganizational Meeting Thursday. Paul Abbott was once again selected as Board President.

Two new ex-officio student board members were appointed to the school board as well. High School Seniors Madison Arthurs and Annika Spitzer will serve now until June 30, 2022.

The Board also approved combining the Boys’ Swimming team with Falconer High School and the Girls’ Swimming Team with Southwestern High School. Jamestown High School will be the host for the combined Boys swimming team while Southwestern will be the host for the combined Girls swimming team.

Jamestown Public School

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said he was very pleased with the results, “It was a resounding yes from our community on all counts from the budget to all the propositions to the Capital project, which is something that’s very good to see. It means our community has stepped up and said ‘this is what we want to happen.'”

Jamestown Public School district voters also chose Nina Karbacka and Frank Galeazzo to serve on the Jamestown Board of Education. Karbacka, who was re-elected to a third term on the board, says she was delighted, “I am delighted to continue to work for the Jamestown children. And I am delighted with the overwhelming response to our budget. We have a great budget, a great capital project coming up, and I’m glad to see the community support.”

Galeazzo thanked Gina Sink and Krysta Rives for running for the board and thanked those who came out to vote as well, “As far as what’s next, we’ll get to work once I get sworn in on the Board and start to do whatever support I can do to give to the school district and the kids of the school district to ensure they get the best education possible. And Jamestown has been doing that for quite awhile, so I hope to continue that with everyone else.” Galeazzo replaces Board Member Dan Johnson, who decided not to run for another term.

The Board of Education reorganization meeting is July 1st.

Jamestown High School PTSA President Joanne Dean and Treasurer Melissa Rhodes moderated a “Meet the Candidates” forum so voters could learn more about the four candidates running for two open seats on the Jamestown School Board. The candidates are Frank Galeazzo, Nina Karbacka, Krysta Rives, and Gina Sink.

New York State has extended the moratorium on utility companies shutting off services to customers affected by the Pandemic. WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Jamestown BPU‘s Frank Galeazzo about how this is affecting our local utility and how customers can get assistance.

The candidates running are Frank Galeazzo, Nina Karbacka, Krysta Rives, and Gina Sink.

Frank Galeazzo cited his 20-plus years of experience in leadership and advocating for education for why he is running. He said his top priorities include giving students the best education that can be delivered and keeping finances under control, “Finding the funding, finding the finance management in a declining population where thankfully the school district has been able to do that for the past eleven years with no tax increase.”

Nina Karbacka, a retired music educator who has served for 6 years on the school board, said there are a lot of opportunities for the district to learn and grow after going through the COVID-19 Pandemic experience. She said a challenge will be engaging students as they return to the classroom, “And we have been working in that direction by hiring psychologists and social workers and literacy experts and community navigators to help to draw our students back in. I think we really want to see our students engaged in our school system.”

Krysta Rives, who is earning a doctorate in education, said she is running because she understands the challenges of under-represented learners. She said the district needs more diversity, “We have 37% of our students identifying as non-white and we don’t reflect that on our board, we don’t reflect that in the classrooms that they walk into every day. There is no representation.”

Gina Sink, who has 12 years of teaching experience, said one of the biggest opportunities for the district are the capital projects happening, “The increase in technology and replacing, maintaining the infrastructure, changing the classroom layouts, and things like that that will all contribute to the learning and things of the students as well as the possibility of the hybrid model continuing.”

The public will vote Tuesday, May 18th on the candidates for the board as well as the school budget and capital improvement plan.

From a budgetary standpoint, Galeazzo said the BPU is waiting to see what happens at the state and federal level, “We still have to continue to pay our bills. We still have to continue to pay our bills to New York State. So even though we’re not getting that cash flow, that has not exempted us from paying the bills we are required to pay.”

He said there is help for utility customers through the HEAP program, “HEAP is mainly for their electric charges. It does not cover the water, wastewater and garbage charges, but it does cover the electric charges for the HEAP program. And you can go to New York State website and google ‘HEAP’ and people can apply for those HEAP funds today.”

Galeazzo added additional ways customers can get help with their utility bill includes payment arrangements with the BPU, help from the Johnson BPU Good Neighbor Fund, and as well as assistance through the Chautauqua County Department of Social Services.

The Jamestown High School P-T-S-A will hold a “Meet The Candidates Night” at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 13th in the Board of Education Room in the JPS Administration Building. It’ll be livestreamed at jpsny.org/election.

Community members who would like to attend the forum in person need to reserve a space by calling 483-4420 by noon on May 13th. Questions for the candidates can also be emailed to jaunita.m.walter@jpsny.org no later than May 12th.

The 2021-22 Budget Vote, Capital Improvement Project votes and Board of Education election will be held on Tuesday, May 18 from noon to 9 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary School, Jefferson Middle School, and Washington Middle School.

In addition to all budgets passing, all of the other propositions that appeared on the ballots for each respective district were also approved, with the only exception being a proposition in the Pine Valley School District to reduce the seats on the board of education. That proposition was defeated with 125 “no” votes to 71 “yes” votes.

• VIEW UNOFFICIAL RESULTS FOR EACH DISTRICT

JAMESTOWN VOTERS APPROVE BUDGET, SCHNARS RETURNS TO SCHOOL BOARD

In Jamestown, voters approved an $85 million budget by a vote of 504 to 106. That spending plan included no tax increase and also had no layoffs or staff reductions.

In the school board election race, incumbents Paul Abbott and Shelly Leathers won reelection. The third seat will go to Christine Schnars, who was previously on the school board for several years, up until June 2012 when she failed to receive enough votes in that year’s elections. Incumbent Tom Pope chose not to run for reelection this year.

JPS VOTE TALLY

• *Paul Abbott:  459
• *Rachelle “Shelly” Leathers: 376
• Christine Schnars: 343
• Frank Galeazzo:  249
• Fannell Leeper:  247
  * Notes Incumbent

The district’s bus proposition also was approved.

In the other local school board races that featured contested ballots, Jennifer Olson and Tom Frederes were the two top vote-getters in the Falconer School District, were two seats were up for election.  And in the Chautauqua Lake School District, which had three seats up for a vote, the top vote getters were Mary Lee Talbot, Jay Baker, and Deborah Cross-Fuller.

Candidates for the Jamestown School Board 2017 Election: (Top Row, L to R) Paul Abbott, Frank Galeazzo,

Candidates for the Jamestown School Board 2017 Election: (Top Row, L to R) Paul Abbott, and Shelly Leathers. (Bottom Row, L to R) Fannel Leeper and Christine Schnars.

JAMESTOWN – It appears there will be at least one new member of the Jamestown School Board when the new school year begins in July.

Wednesday was the deadline for school board candidates to submit petitions to run for three seats up for election in May.  A total of five individuals handed in signed petitions, with only two of them being current board members. They are board president Paul Abbott and board member Shelly Leathers. Long-time board member Tom Pope has apparently decided not to run for reelection.

The three other individuals who also submitted petitions are former Jamestown school board member and president Christine Schnars, city resident Fannell Leeper, and city resident Frank Galeazzo.

The Jamestown City Council PTSA will hold a Jamestown Board of Education Candidates’ Forum on Thursday, May 11th at 6 p.m. in the Board Room in the Administration Building at 197 Martin Road. The public is encouraged to attend to learn more about the candidates and ask questions.

A public hearing regarding the JPS 2017-18 Proposed Budget will be held on Tuesday, May 9 at 6 p.m. at Persell Middle School. The 2017-18 Proposed Budget is also available for public review at 197 Martin Road or at www.jamestownpublicschools.org under the button “2017-18 Budget Information.”

The 2017-18 School Budget Vote and School Board Elections will be held on Tuesday, May 16 from noon to 9 p.m.