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The OBSERVER’s View

Nation: Cabinet nominees deserve hearings

With plenty of buzz surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s planned nominees for cabinet positions, it is understandable for opinions to form early. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was right, then, to suggest the candidates named should be given a chance. “He’s got to appoint the team that he absolutely believes in,” soon-to-be U.S. Sen. Justice said. “We have to absolutely be fair about this, and we’ve got to give them time to get their feet underneath them to do the job I know they’ll do.” It’s impossible to miss that in the same breath he is asking people to be ...

HANOVER Keeping fire plans on front burner

Credit to Hanover for continuing to stay on top of the possibility of consolidating fire departments. As we have already seen with the North Lake Fire District, which is made up of Mayville, Dewittville and Hartfield, there are benefits. This week, town Supervisor Lou Pelletter reported he attended a webinar to learn more about the needs of fire departments — such as declining enrollment, updated training, and ever changing regulations — and how to meet those needs through consolidation. Pelletter received permission from the Town Board to enter into an agreement with the ...

DUNKIRK Overtime issue is costly to city

It is not only the lack of oversight with city budgets that has been troubling the city of Dunkirk in recent years. During this week’s Finance Committee meeting, another revelation came to light: the city is not properly keeping track of overtime. What other disaster is on the horizon? Fiscal Affairs Officer Ellen Luczkowiak said Monday the state Labor Department found the city police department had been keeping inaccurate records regarding overtime when it made a stop at City Hall last month. “We’re going to have a pretty hefty bill coming up we’re going to have to pay out, ...

DUNKIRK Battery facility plans need input of city

City of Dunkirk residents need to be a part of the discussion regarding a recent meeting of the Chautauqua County Planning Board. Last week, board members reviewed initial plans for a 250 megawatt grid-connected battery storage system, to be placed on West Seventh Street in the city. According to the application, the project will be a simple layout of battery containers connected to a new substation. The battery cells are contained in racks arranged within containers (each about the size of a shipping container) on a concrete slab. The containers are separated according to the ...

EDUCATION: Opposition by GOP weak on regional plans

When it comes to state politics Republicans are often a voice of reason. That isn’t the case when it comes to the state Board of Regents emergency order for school districts to submit regionalization plans to the state Education Department. Part of the problem is the state Board of Regents, as it is wont to do, did a horrible job explaining what it actually wants. The Regents didn’t speak about the emergency order during the meeting where it was passed, leaving a general public that is typically skittish about regionalism or potential consolidation to let its collective mind ...

FREDONIA: We need sharing, not new facilities

Sharing has become a way for area schools to continue to offer athletics, especially for the smaller districts with lesser student numbers. You see it with the Clymer-Sherman-Panama football team as well as the Fredonia-Dunkirk-Pine Valley-Forestville-Cassadaga Valley girls swim team. It is a solution that’s often applauded and brings winning results. That concept of sharing is what voters must consider when deciding Thursday on a $51.7 million capital project that includes three parts for the Fredonia Central Schools. The first involves maintenance and repairs to the current ...