Board of Managers Chairman Russ Diethrick stated “Jamestown Community Baseball LLC is honored to have been part of Jacob Kindberg’s successful career journey. With regret, we announce he will be leaving the organization at the end of August. We will miss his talent and leadership. We wish him well in his exciting future endeavors.”

The Jamestown Tarp Skunks, who had their start in 2020 delayed due to COVID-19, had a successful season this year with the Western Division Championship in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.

WRFA’s Julia Ciesla-Hanley spoke with Jamestown Babe Ruth World Series Committee Members Kim Ecklund and Russ Diethrick about the World Series event coming to Jamestown next week.

JAMESTOWN – A book capturing the history of professional baseball in Jamestown has been updated and republished to include additional details since its first launch over 20 years ago.

The Jamestown Tarp Skunks and members of Jamestown Community Baseball held an event Saturday morning at the Robert H. Jackson Center celebrating the official launch of the book “Our Game: From Unknowns to Tarp Skunks, 155 Years (And Counting!) of Baseball in Jamestown, New York.”

A discussion on a new book about the history of baseball in Jamestown NY took place on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Robert H. Jackson Center, featuring co-authors David Mulei (via webstream) and Scott Kindberg (seated left); Randy Anderson from the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame (seated right) and moderated by Greg Peterson (seated, back to camera).

The book is of reprint of the 1998 book “Across the Seams” by Dave Mulei, with new, additional chapters contributed and edited by Scott Kindberg, long-time reporter and current sports editor of the Jamestown Post-Journal.

The event featured a discussion involving Mulei and Kindberg, along with Randy Anderson, Executive Director of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame. It was moderated by Jamestown Community Baseball founding member, attorney and local history buff and baseball fan Greg Peterson.

Kindberg explained that while he helped to choose much of the content that went into covering the 25 additional years of baseball in the community, much of it was actually written by the former Post-Journal Sports editor, the late Jim Riggs.

Image from Jamestown Post-Journal

“Fortunately, Jim clipped out every article and every column he ever wrote. So Randy suggested, ‘Well. Since Jim’s stuff is all cataloged, why don’t we see what we can find that relates to his coverage of the Jammers from 1995 to 2014.’ And then myself and the staff at the Post-Journal picked up the coverage of the collegiate wood bat league from 2015 to the present,” Kindberg said.

The book not only includes coverage of professional baseball in the city until the Jamestown Jammers Single-A team’s departure in 2014, but also the return of baseball by the Jammers’ summer collegiate team the following year and the announced “Jamestown Tarp Skunks” team of 2020.

Anderson also helped to create a database of all players who ever made it to the major league level, explaining those players are an important part of sports history in our area.

“Our guys are in that book. And that’s our job at the Hall of Fame, it’s to honor and preserve the sports legacy of Chautauqua County and nothing says it better than the history of baseball,” Anderson said.

Mulei, who joined the discussion from the New York City area via zoom webstreaming, explained that his original book – along with the expansion provided Kindberg – does more than just cover the year-by-year history of the teams that played, saying it also explains how community leaders and various stakeholders worked to keep it going over the years.

“I think this is a story that is about more than just the game on the field in Jamestown. I think what you have all been part of – that continuum that you’re on – is crucial and essential. I think it’s a playbook for other folks in other towns committing to other projects and things that are bigger than themselves,” Mulei said.

In addition to the release of the new book, Peterson said that the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame also has posters now available for sale that feature the baseball cards of all major league players who ever played for a Jamestown team, from the early 1940s all the way to the present day. That includes Hall-of-Famers Nellie Fox and Randy Johnson, along with an estimated 180 others.

Many of the cards were provided by Jamestown’s “Mr. Baseball” – Russ Diethrick.

“Russ was gracious enough to extend to the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame his collection [of baseball cards]. His collection has now been captured for the first time in posters, which are for sale. That is a collection of folks who played baseball in Jamestown and came to go on to the majors,” Peterson said.

The book and two separate posters featuring the baseball players who made it to the “Big Show” are all now available for sale at the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame.

(Image courtesy of City of Jamestown/ Mayor Sam Teresi Facebook page)

JAMESTOWN – A special event took place Monday afternoon at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park in Jamestown to usher in a new era of locally owned baseball in Jamestown.

Jamestown Community Baseball LLC boar president Russ Diethrick was on hand and joined by several other officials to signs a lease transfer establishing the non profit group as the primary tenant of the ballpark that bears his name.

The move, combined with a transfer of team ownership from the previous owners to the locally owned group, means the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League will return to the city next year after taking this season off.

The JLDC board of directors held its first meeting of the new year and as part of new business the panel unanimously approved two resolutions that would provide $50,000 in grant funding to the National Comedy Center for an additional event at the Northwest Arena during the 2019 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in August.

In addition, the board approved a resolution that would give $50,000 in grant funding to the Jamestown High School Marching Band, along with an upfront $25,000 loan for a major fundraising event on Friday, July 19 at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. The Marching band is hoping to generate a net profit of $15,000 from the event.

The funding would come from city’s Downtown Programming Fund.

City Development Director and JLDC Executive Director Vince DeJoy said the funding for the Marching Band event would be used to cover various costs associated with the event.

The Reg Lenna Center for the Arts will be the location for a special fundraiser for the Jamestown High School Marching band on July 19, 2019 featuring a “significant name and talent” according to organizers who are unable to disclose more specifics until contracts are signed. Funding for the event is made possible, in part, to the city’s Downtown Programming Fund.

“The total expenses for this program, including talent, travel, hospitality, production costs, stage, lights, marketing, etc. is $119,000. It’s a very significant name and talent that the Marching Band is hoping to bring to the Reg,” DeJoy said.

Because contracts still have to be signed for the entertainment that will be participating in both events, specific details of what the events would entail were not disclosed and would be released at a later date.

Also, while the JLDC board approved the funding allocations, the resolutions must also be reviewed by the state and approved in order to be finalized. That’s because the grant money comes from a $600,000 pool of money from the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative Grant the city received in 2017.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, who serves as the president of the JLDC board, also provided a reminder of what the event program funding can be used for.

“This program is intended not to fund existing events and activities that are already underway. We’re not here to pay for somebody else’s sponsorship or subsidy, but to deal with brand new events that otherwise wouldn’t occur. Or in the case of an existing event like the annual Lucy Fest that’s operated by the Comedy Center where there is a significant and quantifiable increase and expansion in an existing event, and that’s what’s happening with the NCC event,” Teresi explained.

The JLDC also reminds the community that additional funding remains available for anyone wishing to put on a major event in the downtown area of the city and needs support to do so.

In other news from the meeting, the JLDC board approved a unanimous consent resolution that was signed in late 2018 involving changes to the terms of a $180,000 JLDC loan for the Jamestown Brewing Company.

That loan was one of several loans and funding sources the business owners – father-son duo John McLellan Sr. and John McLellan Jr. from Buffalo – requested in 2017 in order to get their operation off the ground. However, delays in the renovation effort of the building where the business will be located forced a delay in the opening. As a result of the delay, all lending sources – both public and private –  made an effort to restructure their respective loans to accommodate the McLellans and ensure they have enough startup capital for its opening, now planned for March 2019.

Because the JLDC loan exceeded $100,000, the changes had to also be approved by the Jamestown City Council – which it did by a vote of 8 to 1 during its October 2018 meeting.

And the JLDC board also welcomed two new members. Vicki McGraw will be the representative of the Jamestown Chamber of Commerce, taking over for Russ Diethrick. And Chris Sellstrom will be the representative for the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, taking over for John Whitaker.  The JLDC  bylaws state that a representative from those two organizations, along with the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier, must have a seat on the board.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Jammers collegiate league baseball team won’t be taking the field in 2019.

That was the news delivered Wednesday during a press conference at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park as the owners of the collegiate team – ROC Ventures – announced the team would be going dark next year, with a plan to transfer ownership as a donation to a soon-to-be-created nonprofit group called Jamestown Community Baseball LLC in time for the start of the 2020 season.

Officials and community members announced on Wednesday, Oct. 25 that the Jamestown Jammers would be transitioning to new ownership and as a result the team would go dark iin 2019 to reorganize.

Jamestown Jammers Manager and community relation representative for ROC Ventures Anthony Barone said the decision had nothing to do with finances as the team had strong community support through sponsorship and attendance. Instead, the decision was because the Milwaukee-based owners wanted to focus on another baseball team closer to its home base.

“ROC Ventures and its other sports and entertainment interests are based in the Milwaukee area. We’ve created a new professional baseball team called the Milwaukee Milkmen. They’ll begin playing in the legendary American Association, a professional baseball league during the 2019 season,” Barone said. “It’s a great opportunity for ROC to take aim at a new venture in a professional atmosphere.”

The Jammers play in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League – a summer league intended to help college players hone their skills while they are out of school. Led by Barone, the Jammers won the league pennant this past summer.

PGCBL president Robert Julian said that while local interests were hoping to have the ownership transfer in time for the 2019 season, his suggestion was to let the team go dark for one year in order to allow for the development of a sound business plan to ensure success in future years.

“The prudent thing for this community would be to go dark in 2010, which is not uncommon in our league. It is an important component built into our league bylaws,” Julian explained. “It is a tactic that allows communities and teams to reorganize and do so under a circumstance where they’re not under tremendous financial and management pressure to field a team immediately when the circumstances are not fully in place.”

Julian said the annual operating budget for a team in the league is about $150,000 to $200,000. He said because a nonprofit group would be taking over, it may be easier to run the team because the drive for profit is taken out of the equation.

“We will work with the city and the local group on the timing and the transition to ensure the new owners have every chance to build a successful team and product here at Diethrick Park,” Barone said.

Barone and Julian were joined by Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, baseball enthusiast and local attorney Greg Peterson, Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame director Randy Anderson, and retired city parks director and long-time baseball supporters Russ Diethrick, who the stadium is named after.

The stadium is owned by the city and Mayor Teresi said his executive budget released earlier this month already accounted for the Jammers going dark in 2019, although those details were never brought up in his budget presentation on Oct. 9, nor when the city parks department met with the city council to go over the budget numbers on Oct. 15.

Peterson also said that anyone who wants to assist with the new nonprofit group should reach out, adding that their help will be needed and appreciated since it will be a community-wide effort to make the new ownership group a success.

The group is expected to be created and a new business plan in place by the middle of next spring.

“The process is already under way to create the appropriate structure. Conversations are under way with folks to add to the group on both counsel and also on an investor basis,” Teresi said.

In addition to several re-appointments to the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, the council also approved several appointments to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (JLDC) board of directors, including one individual to ensure representation by the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier (MAST).

City resident Tim Smeal, who currently serves as Director of Development at Jamestown Community College and previously had served on the mayor’s ad hoc Downtown Parking Committee, was appointed as the MAST representative.

The appointment comes following concerns voiced last month by MAST president Todd Tranum that the board needs to have MAST representation, as outlined in the JLDC Bylaws, following the departure of former MAST representative Justin Hanft, who moved out of the city last year. Tranum said MAST had requested that former BPU chair John Zabrodsky be appointed to replace Hanft, but that request was not acted on and instead, Teresi opted to go with Smeal – who qualifies as MAST representative because of his employment at JCC.

Teresi was allowed to appoint his own MAST representative because of a recent amendment to the JLDC Bylaws that removed the JLDC appointment power from the MAST president. Under JLDC bylaws, the MAST president is to serve on the JLDC only if he is a resident within the city. But because Tranum resides outside of the city, another individual connected to MAST must be appointed in his place.

Other JLDC appointments included:

• Kimberly Ecklund (Jamestown City Council representative);
• Resident Tyler Case (At Large member)
• Russell Diethrick (Chaut. Co. Chamber of Commerce representative)
• John Whittaker (Jamestown Renaissance Corporation representative)

Also on the JLDC board are newly elected council president Marie Carrubba and city council finance chair Tony Dolce, by virtue of their positions on the council.

The JLDC is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Jamestown City Council in April 1981 which serves as the lending agency of the City of Jamestown’s Department of Development. No taxpayer dollars are used as loan money.  Jamestown mayor Sam Teresi has also proposed having the agency purchase the city’s wastewater treatment plant in an effort to raise capitol for the city to help pay for infrastructure improvements and equipment purchases, along with going toward a tax stabilization fund.

Russ Diethrick, Jim Roselle, & Mayor Sam Teresi at 2014 Easter Egg Hunt

JAMESTOWN – The City of Jamestown’s 69th Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be dedicated to local radio legend Jim Roselle, who died Wednesday at the age of 89.

Mayor Sam Teresi said that During his final days, Roselle vowed that he was going to attend and broadcast from Saturday’s annual Easter Egg Hunt at Allen Park. Teresi said that while Jim can’t physically be at Allen Park this year, he will certainly be there in spirit and his spirit will live on with all of the ‘youngsters’ in attendance.

Roselle worked for WJTN and Media One Group for over 60 years. Media One Group is a sponsor of the Easter Egg Hunt.

The event will be held outside in the playground areas of Allen Park at 10:30am, Saturday, March 26th. This free event is for children age 12 and under.

Jim Roselle at Chautauqua Institution in 2009. (Image by Jason Sample)

JAMESTOWN – A local broadcasting legend has passed away.

Long-time WJTN personality Jim Roselle died Wednesday at his home in Jamestown. He was 89 years old.

Roselle started working at WJTN in 1953 and was in his 61st year at the station, spending 41 summers broadcasting daily from Chautauqua Institution.

He hosted many shows during his time with the station, most recently The Jim Roselle Show weekday mornings from 9 am to noon. He also shared the microphone with his good friend Russ Diethrick on “The Times of Your Life” program on Saturday mornings.

In 2010, Roselle was inducted into New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.

WJTN News director Terry Frank spent more than three daces working with Roselle, saying he was a true ambassador of Jamestown.

“He was very much part of the Jamestown fabric. He spoke Jamestown. He talked about Jamestown. He was an ambassador for Jamestown – not just around here and New York State, but he went to Russia as part of the Chautauqua exchanges and other programs. He was just an amazing guy… someone you model yourself after. You try to be as upbeat, as personable and as professional as possible, and that was the epitome of Jim Roselle,” Frank told WRFA.

One of the many career highlights for Roselle was broadcasting at Chautauqua Institution every summer since 1974, where he interviewed hundreds of national and internationally recognized individuals from his broadcast location at Bestor Plaza. Roselle always knew the right questions to ask, which was a testament to his skills as an interviewer.

“I think Jim also epitomized hard work,” Frank said. “He seldom, if ever, went into an interview unarmed. He had read the book the person had written. He read stories about what they had said and what they had done. If there was a controversy with the person, be it a presidential candidate or someone involved with the administration or someone involved in foreign policy, he knew what the issues were. He did the due diligence required for a good interview.

“But he also had a way of disarming the person he was talking to, and that really helped him to get people to open up and respond, so when he asked a tough question, they were more willing to answer it.”

In addition to his hall of fame career as a broadcaster, Roselle was also active in the community. He had been a member of the Board of Directors for the Lucille Ball Little Theatre for over 30 years; the Jamestown Boys and Girls Club for more than 25 years; and the James Prendergast Library. He also had been the chairman for many community events.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Hubert Funeral Home, with visitation scheduled for Saturday, March 26 from 1 to 4 pm and 6 to 9 pm in the Funeral Home.  A Christian Wake Service will be held at 12:30 p.m.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 am Monday March 28 at St. James Catholic Church. Burial will be in Sunset Hill Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Boys & Girls Club, the James Prendergast Library, or Lucille Ball Little Theater in Jamestown.