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The OBSERVER’s View

SCHOOLS: Tiny districts can share superintendent

The Panama Central School Board of Education has been meeting over the past week to discuss candidates to serve as the district’s interim superintendent after Aaron Wolfe resigned to take a position in Wellsville. Wolfe had been in Panama since 2022 after the retirement of former Panama superintendent Bert Lictus. Once an interim superintendent is hired, we hope the district continues down a path it started with Lictus and looks to share the position with a neighboring school district. Paama and Clymer were ahead of the curve when it came to sharing positions, including sharing ...

DUNKIRK: Probe of office is no fix for future

Commotion at the City Hall treasurer’s office this week led by the office of the New York state comptroller, law enforcement and the county district attorney has been a compelling distraction. But no matter what is discovered, it is doing nothing to fix the serious cash crunch facing Dunkirk. “This action was set in motion (due) to the discovery of questionable accounting practices, which were brought to light through new policies, procedures, and enhanced oversight measures implemented by me to safeguard public funds,” Mayor Kate Wdowiaz announced during the Common Council ...

District Passing on hike in water costs

Dunkirk’s fiscal troubles are, as we expected, trickling to other entities and residents. Most recently, the city announced water rates will be going up. This will be impacting those who get their supply from the North County Water District. During this month’s meeting, Dunkirk’s water system chief Randy Woodbury noted the hike will be “because of rising costs over three years but (the size of the hike) will be held down by economy of scale as use is growing.” He was conveying information from SUNY Fredonia professor Peter Reinelt, who is calculating the rate with his ...

MAYVILLE: DEC soil testing is needed, welcome

Uncertainty over how the state DEC will administer its legislatively required work under the state’s Freshwater Wetlands Act can sometimes color area residents’ perception of the DEC. But the agency’s work in Mayville underscores the agency’s importance on less controversial, but no less important, areas that affect county residents. DEC officials have begun testing soil in the Mayville area to determine the extent of previous PFNA acid in the wake of the December 2020 discovery of PFNA chemicals in a village drinking water well. A new well was put on line about three weeks ...

BASKETBALL: Area flavor missing from tournament

College basketball fans around the nation are rejoicing as the men’s and women’s tournaments begin this week. For the men, the games start this evening with a pair of games as well as two more on Wednesday. But there is definitely some madness missing for our region. No Western New York teams are in the tournament this year. Despite a hot start, St. Bonaventure will be playing in the National Invitation Tournament, losing in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. The University at Buffalo women also are heading to the NIT after falling short in its tournament. Without ...

ENFORCEMENT: Common threads for law officers

There are very real threads between the recently ended strike of state corrections officers and local policing that we’re seeing on our streets every day. We noted recently that one thread that local mayors, county executives and town supervisors have to be watching carefully is what the wildcat strikes in prisons around the state mean for the state’s Taylor Act, which is supposed to prevent strikes by public employees like the wildcat actions that spread like wildfire in late February. The state’s unwillingness to simply invoke the Taylor Law quickly could, in our opinion, ...