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Opinion

250th anniversary of the United States a big deal

Commentary

As it should be, a lot has been made this year of the 250th anniversary (birthday) of our country. It is a time to reflect back on what it has taken to bring us to where we are today. One of my siblings reminded me that, in fact, we have been alive for about 1/3rd of that time -- just think about it. If you divide 250 by three ... you get my age! Either I am very old or the country is very young -- and both are true. It made me reflect back upon conversations with my father. He told us that in discussions he had with his grandfather, that his grandfather described working all winter ...

In new era, always someone watching

The OBSERVER’s View

Flock Safety is at least acknowledging the privacy concerns that have been raised by members of the public and by civil liberties groups over the past several months by announcing changes to its platform. We aren't sure those changes go far enough, though they do appear to be a step in the right direction. Flock operates a vast nationwide network of automated cameras that record the license plate numbers and other characteristics of all passing vehicles every day. Thousands of law enforcement agencies in 49 states can search and share Flock's data across jurisdictions to aid their ...

It’s time to bring public comment back to Village Board meetings

Commentary

It was encouraging to watch the Monday, Aug. 24 Village Board workshop on YouTube. Kudos to Trustees Tim Mulholland, Christine Cruz-Keefe and LeeAnn Lazarony for voicing their support to reinstate the public comment sessions at Fredonia village board meetings. Mayor Michael Ferguson and Trustees Paul Wandel and Ben Brauchler continue to push their tired old chestnut that public comment should remain suspended for “safety reasons” while masking their real reason for suspending public comment from meetings in the first place. Whether it be downtown parking, parking on Forest Place, ...

Nosing around when it comes to area issues

Commentary

This week’s essay is a collection of random observations and perspectives regarding Dunkirk and Fredonia. (If anyone wants to question me about this, my lawyer has advised me to exercise my right to plead the fifth.) Something stinks in Dunkirk. I’m not talking about the eruptions that sometimes heat up City Hall. It’s about the air in the Fourth ward, where the ice cream factory continues to have a big waste management problem. Despite the economic boom it promises (like 260 new jobs when it's all done), the bad smell continues. Combined with the smoky air drifting our way ...

Having a game plan for life

Commentary

About three or four years ago, I wrote two articles for some of my ex-players who now coach basketball on the junior varsity, varsity and collegiate level. I described the similarities and differences between coaching basketball and coaching clients with alcohol and other drug problems. The behaviors are similar, but more important than that is the thinking process of both players and clients. When players come to the gym for basketball tryouts in early November, if the coach is new, he or she actually knows very little about the 50 to 100 kids trying out for the team. After many years ...

Nation’s leadership keeps overseeing unsteady ship

Commentary

The United States is in real trouble — and we are being lied to. We had 15 bases in the Middle East and now we have two. Neither of them are big enough to resupply an aircraft carrier. That is why the crew of more than 5,000 sailors on the USS Lincoln were facing littoral starvation. There are other U.S. Navy ships in the area also in dire straits. It’s up to us to keep the pressure up. The most basic thing a country does for its armed services is feed them. This administration is completely incompetent. They do not know or care if everyone has enough to eat. Call U.S. Rep. Nick ...