1. From Page A1
On the night of April 16,
Angel was forced to bring
Nayla to WCA Hospital’s
emergency room for injuries
sustained in an apparent beat-
ing.
Nayla was transferred to
Women and Children’s Hos-
pital of Buffalo, where she
underwent emergency sur-
gery and later died of her
injuries the following morn-
ing.
An autopsy at Erie County
Medical Center ruled the
death a homicide due to blunt
force trauma and internal
bruising.
Angel and Perez, while
named “persons-of-interest”
by the Jamestown Police
Department, were never for-
mally charged, according to
police sources.
David Foley, former Chau-
tauqua County district attor-
ney, who handled the case at
the time, said insufficient evi-
dence made prosecution a
virtual non-starter.
“Any district attorney has
an ethical obligation to make
sure that if they’re going to
go forward with presenting
evidence to a grand jury or
charging someone, that we
have enough to sustain a con-
viction,” said Foley, a year
after Nayla’s death. “Until we
have that, we can’t take either
one of those steps.”
Patrick Swanson, acting
county district attorney, said
he couldn’t comment exten-
sively on the case, except that
it remains active and ongo-
ing.
“I would not classify this
as a cold case,” Swanson
said. “Unfortunately, most of
the time, (these cases are)
based on new evidence com-
ing forward. If new leads
come in, they’ll be investigat-
ed and we will do what we
can. Witnesses are still being
sought.”
Camille Hodnett, claiming
that law enforcement took too
long to make arrests, pointed
to a 2015 incident in Sala-
manca, in which a young
mother — 24-year-old Leslie
Finch — was charged just
25 days after being accused
of beating and killing her 1-
year-old child.
“It took them 25 days to
charge the mother ... and it
was the same (kind of) case,”
Hodnett said. “What went
wrong here?”
The questions continue.
According to Hodnett,
Nayla was taken to WCA
Hospital for a broken leg sev-
eral weeks prior to her death
and even had her cast
removed by hospital staff the
morning of April 16, the day
before she died.
The New York State
Department of Health indi-
cates that health care work-
ers, such as physicians, regis-
tered nurses and social work-
ers, are considered “mandat-
ed reporters” and are required
— by Section 420 of the
Social Services Law — to
report cases of suspected
child abuse to the Statewide
Central Register of Child
Abuse and Maltreatment or
SCR.
Failure to do so could lead
to a class A misdemeanor.
Hodnett claims that WCA
Hospital failed to report
Nayla’s broken leg to SCR.
In response to inquiries by
The Post-Journal, WCA
Hospital released the follow-
ing statement:
“WCA Hospital follows
New York state mandated
regulations for reporting sus-
pected child abuse. We pro-
vide annual in-services for
hospital staff and monitor our
compliance closely.”
Christine Schuyler, direc-
tor of the county Department
of Health and Human Servic-
es, said her Child Protective
Services division can only
act when it receives a report
from the SCR.
“Staff at the Central Reg-
istry decide whether or not a
report is accepted as potential
abuse or maltreatment wor-
thy of investigation,”
Schuyler said. “If the report
is accepted by the SCR, it is
then sent to the local social
service district’s CPS divi-
sion to investigate.”
Schuyler could not con-
firm whether SCR received a
report from WCA Hospital.
In May 2015, state Sen.
Cathy Young, R-C-I-Olean,
penned a letter to Sheila J.
Poole, acting commissioner
of the New York State Office
of Children and Family Serv-
ices, asking her to begin a
full investigation into possi-
ble reports sent to the SCR
regarding Nayla.
The following month,
Poole responded, stating that
the OCFS undertook a “rig-
orous review” of the SCR
history of the Hodnett case
and is “satisfied that all pro-
tocols have been followed.”
Swanson said his office
will not investigate WCA
Hospital.
“I think for the most part
everybody wants to do the
right thing,” Swanson said.
“We’ve had a change over
the last 50 years with a socie-
ty that is more and more liti-
gious. (Privacy) laws have
been changed and strength-
ened ... and that affects how
people handle information as
they get it.”
The HIPAA Privacy Rule
does permit health care
providers and other mandat-
ed reporters to disclose
reports of child abuse or neg-
lect to public health authori-
ties.
Young has since sponsored
legislation requiring all man-
dated reporters to complete
annual training courses. The
current statute only requires
the training to be completed
at the initial time of licensing.
In the end, such changes
are likely small comfort to
Hodnett.
“(The system) has become
lax,” she said. “People need
to do their job and be held
accountable ... because who’s
going to fight for these chil-
dren? I survive and push
through because somebody
out there is going through the
same thing.”
Perez, while never official-
ly linked to Nayla’s death,
was in fact jailed two weeks
later on unrelated charges.
Jamestown police said he was
charged as a fugitive from
justice for failing to appear in
a Pennsylvania court on a
firearms possession charge.
He is currently incarcerated
in the Allegheny County Jail
in Pittsburgh.
Angel, who has since
given birth to another child,
still resides in Jamestown.
Her children live with her sis-
ter now, but she maintains
joint custody.
In the meantime, Hodnett,
now essentially a surrogate
mother to two, can only look
up at the third child embla-
zoned on the wall, a child
whom she barely got to
know. For much like justice,
Hodnett is in limbo, waiting
— and hoping — that
Nayla’s death is not one in
vain.
From Page A1
If a student needs an
extended period of time and
most other students are fin-
ished with the test, Mains
said the student still testing
can be taken to another room
to complete their work.
Overall, Mains said the
assessments seem to have
gone over well. However,
there was one glitch.
“There was a blank page
or planning page that was
supposed to be there, but it
wasn’t in some of the book-
lets,” he said, adding that stu-
dents were given a sheet of
paper to show their work.
“That’s the only snafu I heard
about.”
Mains said the changes
also appear to have been ben-
eficial for the assessment
process.
“The fact that all the ques-
tions were teacher tested is a
big step forward in my
mind,” he said.
Mains said he believes
there will be continued
change in the next few years,
especially toward computer-
ized testing.
“We’ve been pushing that
when we go to computer-
administered testing that we
also go to a computer-adjust-
ed test,” he said, adding a
computer-adjusted test reacts
to the student taking it by
offering questions based on
their responses and deter-
mines their skill level. “The
computer, based on an algo-
rithm, determines the next
question. The result of that is
that most students finish that
testing experience saying,
‘Well, I got at least half of
that right.’”
In the meantime, Mains
offered a few words of advice
for parents getting their chil-
dren ready for the tests cur-
rently.
“I would encourage par-
ents to continue to make sure
their child is well-prepared,
and to feed them a breakfast
rich in protein,” he said,
adding the students should
get enough sleep the night
before as well. “It’s an
important test and it gives
them a chance to show what
they know. They should do
their best and not worry
about what the outcome
should be.”
Michael Mansfield,
Bemus Point Central School
District superintendent, also
reported lower opt-out rates.
Mansfield said earlier in
the week, there were nine
opt-outs at the elementary
school level and 15 in sixth,
seventh and eighth grades.
“It was slightly lower in
the elementary and middle
school this year,” he said.
“Looking at this year, I think
it’s calmed down a little bit.”
He said he also believes
there will be a move toward
computerized testing in the
future.
In an earlier interview,
Kaine Kelly, Sherman Cen-
tral School District superin-
tendent, said the district only
had four opt-outs. However,
there weren’t that many opt-
outs in the past years either in
the district.
He said the atmosphere
was very light around the
testing and it was low-stress.
The mathematics exams
will begin this week spanning
from Wednesday to Friday.
Opt-Out
From Page A1
‘‘It is not a fluke in the
numbers, it’s going up over
time,’’ Morris said.
While rental housing costs
have increased, the median
income has decreased for city
residents. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013
the median income for a
renter was $19,521. Six
years earlier, the median
income for a renter was
$20,357, a difference of
$836 or 4 percent.
‘‘There are no easy
answers, but we have a crisis
in the rental market,’’ he said.
If a renter does have a
problem with inadequate
plumbing or no kitchen, they
are directed to contact the city
development department.
This is when a city code
enforcement officer will
inspect the rental property. If
the place is found to have
inadequate plumbing or no
kitchen, changes need to be
made or the housing unit will
be shut down.
‘‘If there is no plumbing or
kitchen, that is when an
orange condemned sign goes
up,’’ said Vince DeJoy, city
development director. ‘‘You
just cannot have a house with
no plumbing and no kitchen.
It is really bad out there.
There is a shortage of decent
apartments that are afford-
able.’’
DeJoy said when this situ-
ation arises, city officials con-
tact the landlords to fix the
problem. He said most land-
lords are very responsive
when they receive a call from
a code enforcement officer
because they don’t want the
rental unit to be closed.
‘‘We go after the landlord
to make the house or apart-
ment is code compliant. We
probably get a couple calls a
week about unresponsive
landlords. Sometimes it takes
the tenant to call us in order
for the landlord to respond,’’
he said. ‘‘When the code
department gets involved we
have a better response rate
because (the landlord) knows
if something basic isn’t
addressed, we could con-
demn it and that affects their
revenue stream.’’
Morris said sometimes ten-
ants don’t want to get city
officials involved because the
apartment they are renting
could be condemned and they
would have to find new hous-
ing. DeJoy said sometimes
this is the case. He said if a
tenant is removed from an
inadequate apartment, city
officials assist them with
finding new housing.
‘‘If it is found to be not
safe and not code complaint
we have no choice but to shut
it down and potentially put
someone on the street, but we
do work with (the tenant) to
find them another apart-
ment,’’ DeJoy said.
Year 2007 2013 Difference
Occupied 13,264 13,117 -147
Housing
Units
Owner- 6,490 (48.9) 6,765 (51.6) 275
Occupied
Rental 6,774 (51.1) 6,352 (48.4) -422
Incomplete 53 185 132
Plumbing
Incomplete 0 218 218
Kitchen
Incomplete N/A 20 N/A
Plumbing,
Owner-
Occupied
Incomplete N/A 165 N/A
Plumbing,
Rental
Incomplete 0 47 47
Kitchen,
Owner-
Occupied
Incomplete 0 171 171
Kitchen, Rental
THE SUNDAY POST-JOURNAL, Jamestown, New York — Sunday, April 10, 2016 A3
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The LORD says, “If my people would only listen to me, if Israel
would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their
enemies and turn my hand against their foes!”
- Psalm 81:13-14 (NIV)
ne day, during an argument with my husband, he said,
“Sweetheart, you are always right, but you don’t listen to me:’
That was a wake-up call for me. All the seminars or marriage
workshops emphasize communication skills - especially the
importance of listening. As I reflected on this, I discovered that
the reason I did not listen was because
I was focused on myself. My pride wanted to prove that
I was right and that my husband was wrong. I needed to learn to
put myself in my husband’s shoes and listen to his point of view.
After all, the Bible teaches us to /tbe quick to listen [and] slow to
speak” (Jas. 1:19).
Listening is also important in our prayer lives. If prayer is
conversation with God, then we will listen to what God is saying
to us. It may well be that when we listen to and obey God, God
will do for us as he promised Israel - to subdue any forces that are
hindering us.
So the next time we pray, we can focus on God, not on
ourselves and our circumstances. Our prayers may not always
produce the answers we seek, but our lives can be transformed by
listening to God and then obeying God.
O
LISTENING
READ Psalm 81 :8-16
reprinted by permission
PRAYER FOCUS:
MARRIED COUPLES
DeHaven’s Westfield Dodge City
This message has been brought to you by-
Prayer: Almighty God, help us to listen to your voice
with our hearts, our minds, and our spirits. Amen.
Tracy Hsu Jensen (California)
Housing
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU AMERICAN FACT FINDER 2013
AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY ESTIMATES FOR JAMESTOWN
A property on Cole Avenue where there was no working water line to the house for
six years is pictured. The family went to city officials about the situation and to find
assistance to get the water line replaced. City officials referred the case to CODE
Inc. and the city provided the neighborhood improvement agency with $30,000 in
emergency repair funding from the Community Development Block Grant pro-
gram to fix the water line.
Submitted photo
Investigation