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The OBSERVER’s View

Schools: Letters confirm area worries

Parents in the Dunkirk City Schools and Jamestown Public Schools last week received a letter from the district detailing what someone who is the subject of an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement action should do. Such a letter shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place given the limitations Dr. Kevin Whitaker discussed with The Post-Journal and WRFA-LP following last week’s school board meeting. Despite Trump’s change of sensitive location guidelines, Whitaker said there are still limits that govern what law enforcement can do in schools, including Immigration and ...

CITY SCHOOLS: A plan to invest in fiscal future

As area schools begin to look ahead to May with budgeting plans for the 2025-26 year, Dunkirk Superintendent Michael Mansfield understands the importance of the bottom line. At last week’s school board meeting, the district leader called for additional hires for the accounting office. “With the capital project coming on board, negotiations are coming up with the teachers association, (and) we have some retirements coming up in the office area, we really feel it’s time we invest in a business administrator,” he said. This year, Dunkirk’s budget was nearly $60 million. Add in ...

FREDONIA: Small fee hikes won’t cover costs

Fredonia is growing more desperate for more funds. With expenses surpassing revenues, trustees last month announced a willingness to take a look at current fees. Trustee Jon Espersen brought up the idea and shared information with other members of the Village Board. “I passed out to all the trustees our current — from 2009 — not just parking, but all the other fees attached in there,” he said. “I would ask that we all take a look at that and see how we want to adjust them.” Last week, the village approved a Revenue Anticipation Note to get through the remainder of the ...

HANOVER: Recent success fuels town hopes

Feb. 25 will be an important night for the town of Hanover and its fire departments. On that evening, a public hearing will take place to discuss the advantages and drawbacks that could come with the consolidation of five fire departments into one district. The Town of Hanover and representatives from the fire departments will receive input from Brad Pinsky, an attorney focused on Fire and Emergency Service agencies, and Noel Guttman, Chautauqua County Emergency Coordinator, regarding fire district consolidation. Legal requirements for any potential consolidation will likely be ...

SOCIAL MEDIA: Americans can send platform message

ByteDance, a Chinese firm that the federal government says is essentially a front for the Chinese government, owns the popular social media platform TikTok, which is used by an estimated 170 million Americans. That’s a national security threat, says Congress, which last year passed a law giving ByteDance until Jan. 19 to sell the platform or shut it down. ByteDance sued to stop the ban, but the U.S. Supreme Court this month upheld the ban. President Donald Trump, who took his oath of office this month, vowed to use executive authority to save the app. The government was wrong to ...

WINTER: Snowmobiles are out in full force

Though winter has seemed to overstay its welcome, there has been some great news for those who savor the season, particularly those who back outdoor activities. Besides the boon for the ski resorts, local snowmobile trails have been buzzing all month. Across the state, there are more than 1,000 miles of trails, spanning 775,000 acres of State Forests. Some of these trails are part of the New York State Snowmobile Trail system, while others are part of the more local State Forest Trail Systems. As noted recently in an Outdoors column by Forrest Fisher, in Cherry Creek, in Boutwell ...