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Highs and lows: Some of the best, worst of the week

Here are some of the best – and worst – of the week:

BEST

WORLD CHANGER – We want to applaud Forestville Board of Education President Sylvester Cleary as well as his daughter Sylvea about trying to “change the world.” Sylvea witnessed bullying at school and told her dad about it. “Dad, what can one person do to make a difference?” she asked. From that conversation, a song was born, which turned into a video, and eventually was shown to the Forestville school at an assembly. It’s a small step in changing the world, educating one child at a time.

OFF TO STATES – Good luck to Fredonia’s Joe Conti and Silver Creek’s Dan Weimer. Both students qualified for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Golf Tournament at the Section 6 State Qualifier. The championships will take place June 1-3 at Cornell University. We wish them the best of luck.

WORST

MORE LAYOFFS – More bad news is coming to Silver Creek. At the start of the new year, the community learned about Ralcorp’s plan to close Petri’s Bakery, as part of its sale to ConAgra. Now we’re hearing that the Lake Erie Regional Health System is making some “staffing changes” at the Lake Shore Health Network in Irving and has laid off around a dozen employees, with more to come. There’s never a good time for a person to lose his/her job. But with Petri’s planned closure and now Lake Shore Health, there’s going to be even more people looking for work.

MUM ON SPECIFICS – Although the company is not legally obligated, we believe the Lake Erie Regional Health System of New York Interim CEO J. Gary Rhodes should have gone on record with its restructuring plan. LERHSNY receives tax dollars (i.e. Medicaid) as part of its operations. If you’re using public funds for your business and grant money to construct your facilities, you should be up front with the public when you have to lay staff off.

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Editor’s note: In last Saturday’s ‘Best’ of the week, we inadvertently forgot to mention the Forestville Lady Hornets for winning their division when we mentioned other schools. The team is still in the playoff hunt, after winning 13-5 against Ellicottville Friday. We congratulate them for a good season and hope it continues.

Highs and lows: Some of the best, worst of the week

Here are some of the best – and worst – of the week:

BEST

BALL TITLES – Congratulations to the Westfield, Fredonia and Cassadaga Valley varsity baseball teams as well as the North Collins and Fredonia varsity softball teams. They all won at least partial titles in their respective divisions. It was particularly sweet for Cassadaga Valley, which hadn’t won a title in 39 years. Playoffs start today. Good luck to all the teams that made it.

25 YEAR HIKE – Today Fredonia eighth graders, and a few Brocton students as well, will be returning from the Quest, a four-day backpacking adventure across Northern Chautauqua County. The group is scheduled to return around 2:45 p.m. at Russell Joy Park. Quest began 25 years ago under the direction of Lee Seratius. Today Stephen and Susan Cobb are the overall instructors, with Kathy Wickmark, Mike Bobseine and Jackie Swift serving as hike group leaders. Too much of our youth’s time is spent in front of screens. Quest gives them an opportunity to experience the beautiful world we live in.

WORLD RECORD HOLDER – Congratulations to Brocton native (and former Evening OBSERVER sales representative) David Belmondo. Last weekend Belmondo rode the Ferris wheel at Waldameer for 31 consecutive hours, setting a new Guinness World Record. Belmondo previously set a world record back in 1978 for the most continuous hours spinning records (remember those) in a disc jockey booth – 2,016 hours. While riding the Ferris wheel, Belmondo was able to raise about $5,000 for the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation.

WORST

MINOR PARTY PROBLEMS – The Conservative Party of Chautauqua County is feuding once again, over who has control. Part of the dispute is that different members want to endorse different people who aren’t registered conservatives. Those running for office like having the additional lines on the ballot. There’s less than 2,000 registered conservative party members in Chautauqua County. New York state should do away with multiple lines on ballots. That would cause these kinds of disputes to vanish.

Highs and lows: Some of the best, worst of the week

Here are some of the best – and worst – of the week:

BEST

OFFICE OF THE AGING – Congratulations to the Chautauqua County Office of the Aging for today being their 40th anniversary. On May 11, 1973, the Chautauqua County Legislature established the OFA. While the organization has changed over the years, their mission to help older adults live safe, healthy and independent lives remains the guiding principle behind all that they do.

HELPING LITERACY – The Bud ‘n Bloom Garden Club will be holding its annual plant sale to benefit Literacy Volunteers next weekend on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 at the Deakin’s Barn on Route 20 in Portland from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a huge selection of perennials, annuals, herbs, and vegetables as well as many beautiful container arrangements. There will also be several demonstrations, a garden tour and a raffle of lovely bushes donated by local nurseries. The sale goes on rain or shine.

LEAGUER OF THE YEAR – Congratulations to Margaret Larson of Dunkirk, who was named “Leaguer of the Year” for Chautauqua County. Pomfret Councilwoman Pat Christina was also honored for her dedication to the League of Women Voters. Both women work very hard for the League and for all the organization does for Chautauqua County.

WORST

SEAWALL CONSTRUCTION – Councilwoman Stephanie Kiyak voted against spending $200,000 on the engineering work for the seawall. The project itself is expected to cost $2.5 million. The reasons she gave was that there’s a $17 million consent order at the water treatment plant; the state audit which said city misappropriated over $1.1 million and the need to document another $2.4 million the city disbursed on behalf of HUD; it’s unknown what NRG’s PILOT payment will be in 2014. “We have waited almost 10 years to address the seawall. Waiting for another year or two to see what happens with the NRG plant and the potential of repaying HUD funds seems like the fiscally responsible and prudent approach this council should be taking,” said Kiyak. We agree.

Highs and lows: Some of the best, worst of the week

Here are some of the best – and worst – of the week:

BEST

NO NEW SCHOOL BUILDING – The Westfield and Brocton boards of education have agreed that should the two schools merge, a new building will not be constructed. In the original feasibility study, one proposal included building a new building that would house students from both districts. Instead, the school boards are looking into keeping elementary students in their current locations, putting middle school students in Westfield Academy and putting the high school students in Brocton. No matter how the configuration is proposed, it’s better to use the existing facilities than build a new building.

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB FUNDRAISER – The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Chautauqua County recently kicked off its annual One Campaign fundraiser. The organization is trying to raise $20,000. It’s important for young people to have a place where they can go and be safe. To donate to the campaign or for more information, visit www.bgcncc.org or call 366-1016.

SOFTBALL’S FINEST – Congratulations to Bob Remington, Joe Woloszyn, Rick Bellando and Mark Wisniewski. The four area residents have been selected to the Western New York Softball Hall of Fame. All four were well known in local softball circles for their long and productive careers, as well as the spirit and class they brought to the game. The four will be inducted on May 3 at the Woodlawn Fire Hall.

WORST

YOUTHFUL OFFENDER STATUS – Eight males, ages ranging from 14-21, were arrested Thursday after allegedly stealing items from the Forestville High School. We can understand the youths age 14 getting youthful offender status. You can even make the argument for the 16 year old getting youthful offender status. But the two 18 year olds got youthful offender status as well. Why? One of the 18 year olds was charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. If you’re given youthful offender status, how can you be charged with endangering the welfare of a child? These 18 year olds should be charged as adults and their names should be released to the public.

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