Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

OLEAN -- The Harlem Wizards, founded in 1962, are one of the greatest basketball show-team organizations to ever "lace it up and let 'em fly." They have scheduled a basketball game in Olean against the Olean High School Faculty and Gus Macker Community Members on Tuesday, May 18 at the Olean High School. Each event that the Harlem Wizards perform offers a rare combination of individual athleticism, teamwork, entertainment and community involvement. It is pure enjoyment for every fan in attendance. Advance tickets are $8 for students (K-12) and $10 for adults, with tickets at the door $10 and $12. Tickets can be purchased until Monday, May 17 at all Olean elementary schools, Olean Middle School, Olean High School and the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce, 120 North Union Street, Olean. Game time is 6:30 PM on May 18th with doors opening at 6 PM. A free autograph session is also scheduled at the game. Refreshments and souvenirs will be on sale during the game. The...

It's official. Olean will have a new mayor next year. The results from the Cattaraugus County Board of Elections show that Linda Witte garnered 1,921 votes to current Mayor David Carucci's 1,726. That's a difference of 195 votes. The unofficial results on Election Night showed a difference of 185 votes. Carucci said he wouldn't concede until all the absentee votes were counted and the results were made official.

Olean Mayor David Carucci isn't giving any concession speeches just yet. According to unofficial election results, Linda Witte beat Carucci yesterday by a vote of 1,808 to 1,623. Carucci says because there's only a 185 vote difference, he's waiting for an official count that will include absentee ballots. He says about 300 absentee ballots have to be counted.

It seems Olean will have a new mayor next year. According to unofficial numbers posted by the Cattaraugus County Board of Elections, Linda Witte beat incumbent David Carrucci by a count of 1808 to 1623. With 74 of 79 districts in the county reporting, challenger Lori Rieman has a lead of 7730 to 4709 over incumbent district attorney Ed Sharkey.

Olean Common Council has voted to defeat a $24 million budget proposal. Mayor David Carucci requested the special meeting, but didn't attend. City Auditor Janet Jones didn't attend the meeting either. Alderman Earl McElfresh said the absence of Carucci and Jones was enough of a reason to cast a "no" vote. He said he has 13 questions about the revised budget proposal that the mayor handed out on Friday.

Olean Mayor David Carucci says the city is moving in the right direction. In his State of the City address last night, Carucci also said he's confident that the city's best days lie ahead. He pointed to several positive changes in the city over the past year, including Park Center Development's multi-tenant and retail complexes, and Dresser-Rand's $4 million test facility and $12 million office complex expansion. Also last night, Common Council voted to return Alderman Ray Wangelin to the president’s position. He follows Rick Smith, who decided not to seek another term as president.

Fire investigators say they may never be able to determine the cause of a blaze that killed two children in Olean last Sunday. They say the South Second Street house was so badly damaged that clues to what started the blaze are nearly impossible to find, although they are continuing their investigation. 18-month-old Jamar Gayton and 3-year-old Aubriana Gayton died in the fire. Their father, Cecil, is still in the burn unit at ECMC after trying to rescue the children. He was able to rescue his third child, 4-year-old Raemont. The Gayton Relief Fund has been set up at Community Bank. Donations of food, clothing and Christmas presents may be dropped off at Mayor David Carucci's office.

Olean Mayor David Carucci has been named co-chairman of the New York Conference of Mayors' Legislative Committee. In announcing Carucci's appointment, the president of the New York Conference of Mayors said Carucci has fought new tax burdens on local taxpayers. Carucci has announced a new web site – stopthetaxshift.org – which tracks the impact of state budget cuts and unfunded state mandates on local taxpayers.