WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 29, 2016 5 2016 Year in Review The blizzard of 2016 What had been a mild winter across the borough was interrupted harshly the weekend of Jan. 22-24, when the Blizzard of 2016 dumped up to 30 inches of snow across much of Queens. Lessons from previous snowstorms in Queens were apparently ignored by the city, as many side streets weren’t plowed for two days aft er the last fl ake fell. Residents and elected offi cials railed at City Hall and the Sanitation Department, but the rage subsided about as quickly as the snow melted-- because mild weather returned, and most of the white stuff melted in a couple of weeks. JANUARY Powerball fever The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,000,000, but those astronomical odds didn’t stop Queens residents from shelling out dollars for a dream of becoming a billionaire. In January, the Powerball jackpot, which hadn’t been hit in weeks, reached world records of $950 million and then $1.5 billion. Along the way, two Ridgewood residents managed to purchase second-place winning tickets, earning a quick $1 million each. Alas, the dream of megawealth ended on Jan. 13, when winning tickets were sold in California, Tennessee and Florida. Machete attack on New Year’s Day The new year got off to a bloody start in Ridgewood when three men attacked an individual with a machete during an early morning robbery. Hamler DeJesus, 19, of Ridgewood and William Gonzalez, 22, of Ozone Park, along with an unidentifi ed 14-year-old male juvenile offender, were arrested shortly aft er the bloody mugging, which occurred at 3:18 a.m. on Jan. 1 at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and Palmetto Street. Police said the suspects approached the victim and knocked him to the ground; one of the suspects then pulled out the machete and slashed the man numerous times. The tragedy of Sierra Shields On Jan. 14, a day aft er quitting her job as a fl ight attendant for Delta Airlines, Sierra Shields went missing. The 30-year-old woman from Astoria was last seen in the area of La Guardia Airport. According to family members, she sounded “distressed” when she informed them that she had quit her job, then they never heard from her again. Amid the frantic search to fi nd her, members of Connection Church, where she was a member, organized to print fl iers and help inform the public of her disappearance. Sadly, the search came to a grim end in September, when her remains were found washed up on the shore of Rikers Island.
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