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The OBSERVER’s View

DUNKIRK: Apprehension over new budget

In recent months, the city of Dunkirk has put its best face on its recent money troubles. During Financial Committee meetings, elected officials are being told that there is a regular balance between revenues and expenses. That is the good news. On Tuesday, however, we will find out if there is any additional harm for city property owners when Mayor Kate Wdowiasz makes her 2026 budget proposal. We are fairly certain it will not be as frightening as the 108% tax hike she included last year that was whittled down to 84% by the council, but we also do not believe that property owners ...

HOCKEY: Chance begins to stop slide

For 14 years, the Buffalo Sabres have been on the outside looking in when it comes to the National Hockey League playoffs. As the team opens its 55th season tonight at home against the New York Rangers, there is bound to be a bit of optimism with the fan base. But, for more than a decade, reality has been tough to take. Plenty of former Sabres, including Jack Eichel with Vegas and Sam Reinhardt with Florida, who couldn’t help the team get to the postseason are hoisting the Stanley Cup. If it was not for the recent success of the Buffalo Bills, owner Terry Pegula — who has a huge ...

AUTUMN: Color us happy with the foliage

Chautauqua County is at its peak, according to the I Love New York campaign. That reference speaks to the colors of fall, which have been spectacular in recent days. For travelers, it is a brilliant and beautiful ride through the region. But we’re not alone. “Peak colors will continue to spread through the Adirondacks and Catskills, and are expected to arrive in some parts of the … Finger Lakes regions,” according to I Love NY. Across the border, the scenery is just as magnificent. Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources reports “fall colors ...

COUNTY: Will entities bite on funds to share?

There’s a lot to County Executive PJ Wendel’s 2026 budget that should sound familiar to county residents. The county needs more money. It needs to increase the amount it’s taking from taxpayers even as the tax rate goes down by a nickel. We’ll spare you financial gloom and doom speech about what happens when property values stop going up every year and those low tax rates no longer support the county government’s appetite for new revenue. We’ve sounded that alarm enough over the years. Just remember that eventually the bubble will burst. There’s a lot to unpack in ...

County: Wonderful murals, questionable costs

There is no question that public art — such as the murals installed in Falconer, Sherman and Westfield, with a fourth coming to Dunkirk this fall — is a nice addition to the public sphere. The question isn’t the art or its value, it’s who is picking up the tab and who’s doing the organizing. We respect the point county legislator Fred Larson made during a recent legislature meeting. The legislature had, indeed, spoken clearly when it chose not to approve $100,000 in occupancy tax funding for the public art program which, at the time in December 2023, included murals and ...

FREDONIA No reason to hide contract details

Fredonia Central Schools announced it had reached agreement with its largest union, the Fredonia Teachers Association, last month. In touting the deal, current Superintendent Brad Zilliox called the deal a “win-win.” For those on the outside, who ultimately contribute to the payroll, Zilliox’s comments are tough to decipher. That is because other than the timeline, no other information was divulged during the meeting. “We appreciate the fact that the FTA leadership and negotiating team kept a very positive, upbeat, professional, collegial mode in these discussions,” the ...