Happy Easter to everyone

Editor, OBSERVER:

This is a special time. It is a time when we celebrate one of the holiest days of the year, a time of new beginnings and a time of remembering what Easter really means. Whether you spend this Easter Sunday in church, hunting Easter eggs, or enjoying time with your friends and loved ones, let us not forget to be thankful for all we have.

As the Mayor of Dunkirk, this time holds a special meaning to me. It is a time when I am seeing economic growth in our City; a time when I am seeing children playing in our parks and families sharing their time with one another at ball games. It is truly a time of new beginnings.

From my wife Rosita, my son Jonah and me, we wish you a happy Easter.

Mayor Wilfred Rosas

Dunkirk

March elections are a relic

Editor, OBSERVER:

The OBSERVER (Highs and Lows, March 23, 2019) queries: Why must we have [village] elections in March?

Historically in New York state, the right to vote in local government elections was limited to property owners. The right to vote in state and federal government elections was extended to persons regardless of their property ownership. To prevent confusion at the polling place, local government elections were scheduled for March at a time of low agricultural activity in New York State and federal and state elections were held in November immediately after the fall harvest. In this way, poll workers did not have to ferret out those who did not own property from those who did.

All of this changed in the 1960s when courts found that these restrictions violated the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Subsequently, all categories of elections may be held on a single day.

https://www.dos.ny.gov/lg/handbook/html/county–government.html

Continued March elections are artifacts of pre-twenty-first-century traditions.

MICHAEL C. BARRIS, Ph.D.

Fredonia

Wind turbines spoil landscape

Editor, OBSERVER:

I totally agree with the comments from Marshall Greestein on March 21 on the wind turbines. I hate them. They spoil the landscape for miles and very few people profit from them. They effect the birds and animals. I wish the public could have a vote!!

Why not?

JoELLEN M. SHERMAN

Foresville