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Opinion

Blakeman pays price for rhetoric

The OBSERVER’s View

Democrats spend so much time blustering about fair elections, we had assumed they actually believed in the concept. They proved last month they do not. That is when the state’s Public Campaign Finance Board chose to deny the application filed by Bruce Blakeman, Republican candidate for governor, to receive six-to-one public matching funds for individual campaign donations up to $250. Were the application fundamentally flawed, we could see denying the application. But that’s not what happened here. In December, the board created a joint filing requirement that both the governor ...

‘Heartbreak’ always finds dog owners

Peoples column

Editor, OBSERVER: We just lost our beloved “Pepsi.” She was a Golden Retriever/Yellow Lab mix. Her owner, a friend, moved to an apartment that didn’t allow large dogs. When we heard that our friend had to get rid of Pepsi, we told him we would take her and bring her to our home in the country. She was 4 when we got her. We had Pepsi for eight years. She was a cancer survivor. She endured a major operation to remove a cancerous tumor that gave her 2 more years of good quality life. I ran across the following article from an unknown author. It tells how we felt about ...

Celebrating village icon’s 100 years

The OBSERVER’s View

Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater in the heart of downtown is giving the community a reason to celebrate. Three days of festivities, beginning Friday, have been planned to celebrate 100 years since the Hollywood Theater was first opened in 1926. “There will be lots to look at to see where we were and where we are now, so we made it into a three-day event,” said Deb Harris, Project Coordinator at Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater. Friday’s happening includes a Centennial Gala while Saturday is the Centennial Hollywood Happening – a throwback to pay homage to the ...

Naming trend is going bit overboard

Commentary

I was brought up in a tradition where normally things were named after national leaders posthumously, after history had time to judge and evaluate their contribution to society and to the country. For example, the Washington Monument wasn’t completed until sometime in the 1880’s, long after Washington had died. Similarly, the Lincoln Memorial wasn’t opened until 1922 — decades after Lincoln’s untimely assassination. Our current President apparently can’t wait for history to evaluate his impact on our history. Among other things, the Kennedy Center in Washington now bears ...

FREDONIA: Rejecting partnership still haunts village

The OBSERVER’s View

For the moment, a ruling has allowed the village to move ahead with its Fredonia Water System Improvement Project. Last week, state Supreme Court Justice Grace Hanlon rejected claims by three village residents who sought to overturn a September resolution. Another appeal may be in the works, but there is no denying the embarrassment that comes with constant boil-water orders — 10 in the last 37 months. The most recent, at the end of March, came at a very inopportune time for the State University of New York at Fredonia. During an open house for those who were admitted to the ...

No meeting, results from council

The OBSERVER’s View

Never before has a canceled Dunkirk Common Council meeting caused such a commotion. About five hours before the scheduled event Tuesday, the city sent out a notice announcing no gathering will take place. Frustrations on social media from the story posted by the OBSERVER seemed over the top. Whether the issue has to do with the quitting of the dog-control officer or a lack of morale inside City Hall, there really is nothing the council can do. Their hands are tied. Dunkirk — a $30 million entity — is barely getting by due to its very public fiscal crisis. In some instances, the ...