Blogs List
Bacon's Bits
 Greg Bacon |
Wild Honey should look at Miranda Lambert for successSun, June 8, 2008 @ 0:50AM When I spoke with Fredonia native Ruth Collins the other day while she was in Nashville, one of the questions I asked her was who was some of her musical influences. Immediately she talked about Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty and the Beatles. Musically, I have complete respect for every one of those artists. I mean, how can you do better than the Beatles? Collins also has high praise for John Mayr, who's not only a talented musician, but also a strong songwriter. She sees the audience for Wild Honey the same audience as mega stars Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift (who just this week were number one and two on CMT's Top 20 countdown). Collins admits they are some of the biggest names out there today, but Underwood and Swift have become stars, reaching out to the younger audience of cou
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Frank vs. Reality
 Frank Besse |
Beer Column 3: Backyard BrewsThu, June 12, 2008 @ 11:12AM This column originally ran June 7 as a part of my monthly beer column which runs the first Saturday of the month. It is fun to experience brews from all over the world, but there are some wonderful beer made right here in Chautauqua County. Ellicottville Brewing Company and Southern Tier Brewing company are two wonderful breweries that do business right here in Chautauqua County. They both offer a wide range of beers from wheat beers to stouts and brew wonderful seasonals. Ellicottville Brewing Company (EBC) was founded in Ellicottville, obviously, but opened up a second location in Fredonia known as EBC West. Filling the hole that Barker Brew left in 2004, EBC has come in and kept the idea of locally crafted beers a staple in the Fredonia community. From my understanding the brewery equipment in the window is used from time to time, but almost all the beer served comes from Ellicottville. They feature some decent regulars, but for me, their best brews are their seaso
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In our neighborhood
 John D'Agostino |
Hitting the streetsWed, July 2, 2008 @ 1:10PM On July 9, community members and this newspaper take to the area's streets to raise funds for a good cause. Our seventh special edition, which this year benefits the Laurel Run and The Resource Center, will begin at 6 a.m. and conclude about three hours later. Volunteers from around the region will be selling the special editions at main intersections throughout northern Chautauqua County. Believe it or not, the Laurel Run is in its 12th year. Our congratulations to the Hotelling family for its persistence and efforts in running the event, which benefits disability awareness and prevention programs that the Resource Center presents free of charge to local schools.
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Sports Shorts
 Craig Harvey |
I wouldn't bet on Big BrownMon, May 19, 2008 @ 6:10PM Maybe it's me, but it seems like every year when a sports team has all the hype and is favored to win their respective championship, they always fail. Remember when Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2003-04 for their final chance at a ring? They joined a talented team that had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal (in his prime). Their were role players such as "Big Shot Bob" Robert Horry, Derek Fisher and Devon George. Four future hall of famers on the starting roster made them favorites to win the championship at the beginning of the year. In the end, they were knocked off by the Detroit Pistons in the championship. How about this past season's New England Patriots? Quarterback Tom Brady with receivers like Randy Mos and the resurgent Wes Welker, with Laurence Maroney in the backfield. Defensively, they had Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel and Teddy Bruschi at linebacker with Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour on the defensive line. Sure they lived up to the hype f
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Dispatches from Below the Fold
 Tim Latshaw |
The Ninth Circle of YonkersThu, June 26, 2008 @ 1:12PM A small news clip making the rounds concerns a big topic, indeed: our American right to give things unflattering nicknames. The City Council of Yonkers voted unanimously this week to drop the endearing little nickname that has often been used in city communications to refer to its abandoned Glenwood Power Station: “The Gates of Hell.” According to a spokeswoman for Council President Chuck Lesnick, the vote will help entice potential developers to buy the plant, saying that the nickname “detracts from the site.” This brings several points to mind: 1) The “potential developers” are obviously not a death metal band. 2) It’s called “The Gates of Hell” because of rumors and legends of gang activity, but shouldn’t you still reserve such a name for someplace that’s hotter and more entrapping, like Orlando? 3) “Chuck Lesnick” is an awesome name for a city council president. Kudos to Yonkers voters. But here’s the main concern: What if this resolu
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Life Cycles
 Tom Schwartz |
Lake Erie Water and why I'll swim in itFri, June 20, 2008 @ 0:45AM I love swimming at Point Gratiot. The beach there appears clean. There is a healthy amount of driftwood, beach glass and by my observations, way less beached carp than there used to be. I don’t see many Zebra Muscles down there, you know, them razor sharp little non-native shellfish that accumulate and become so thick that your boat sits a foot and a half lower in the water. The sand on Point Gratiout Beach is half sand, half Zebra Muscle shells. At the eastern most point of Point Gratiot, on the beach where the sand ends and the shale cliffs begin, the wind and water currents really pick up. The beachball my friends were playing with in the water last week started to blow along the shore. “Run down the beach and get it,” said my friends from the water. “Relax, it’s not moving that fast,” I replied casually and sauntered along the hot sand. But by the time I dived in and started swimming for the ball, the wind had already got it. It was alm
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 Gib Snyder |
The Supremes are out of tuneWed, June 25, 2008 @ 3:17PM Have you had enough of the ridiculous decisions from the United States Supreme Court? I’m guessing that many people from both sides of the political aisle would answer that question in the affirmative. But here’s the latest outrage as far as this writer is concerned. In a decision announced Wednesday, the Supremes, not to be confused with the excellent Motown group, gave further refuge to child rapists. They did this by striking down a Louisiana law that allows for the execution of people convicted of raping a child. The AP story summed it up quickly. ‘‘The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,’’ Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his majority opinion. His four liberal colleagues joined him, while the four more conservative justices dissented. The one-vote majority decided the Cajun state’s law violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. What hogwash! What about the child who gets to have tha
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The road less traveled...
 Shirley West |
Be careful when using pain killersMon, July 7, 2008 @ 1:21PM A good friend of mine passed away a few weeks ago. She was a wonderful person with one of the sweetest singing voices you ever heard. She had only just turned 27. Many years ago she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a condition which left her in almost constant pain. As any person would do when faced with daily hurt, she took non-prescription pain killers regularly. While I do not know all the details of her condition, I do know that her liver and eventually her kidneys failed at the end and the doctors were doing everything they could to remove the pain killers from her system. More and more studies are coming out about the correlation between overuse of pain killers and liver/kidney failure. The problem is that no one seems to know about them. While there is much talk about the improper usage of addictive opiate prescription drugs like OxyContin (a synthetic form of heroin) and Hydrocodeine (a generic form of Vicadin), the dangers of your every day Tyl
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