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Gowanda schools eyeing Jan. 19 return

GOWANDA — School board members discussed a plan last week to resume in-person education in the Gowanda School District. Part of the issue the school faces is that the elementary school is in Erie County, which has different restrictions than the high school, which is in Cattaraugus County. “Our elementary school is in Erie County, which is a yellow zone, so we’re required to test,” said Gowanda Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson. “We’re meeting with Cattaraugus County to set up testing within the next 10 to 14 days, so we will as promised return to hybrid instruction on ...

County surpasses 4,700 COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations lower

Chautauqua County, which does not update its COVID-19 numbers during the weekend, has surpassed 4,700 cases. According to New York state and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, there are 4,708 positive COVID cases through Saturday. In addition, there have been three deaths linked to the virus by the state this weekend. According to the state, 134 new cases of the coronavirus were reported on Friday and another 147 were reported on Saturday. In total, the county tested upwards of 1,000 individuals each day. The region, according to the state, has a 13.4% infection rate over a 7-day period. ...

Literacy effort to replace King luncheon

The Northern Chautauqua County Juneteenth Celebration Committee has canceled its annual Martin Luther King Luncheon due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, to celebrate the day, the group is holding the “See me” literacy drive. “We’re having a book drive and asking people to donate ...

US ramps up vaccinations to get doses to more Americans

The U.S. is entering the second month of the biggest vaccination effort in history with a major expansion of the campaign, opening football stadiums, major league ballparks, fairgrounds and convention centers to inoculate a larger and more diverse pool of people. After a frustratingly slow ...

County surpasses 5,000 COVID cases; 4 new deaths reported

Chautauqua County has surpassed 5,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to numbers released on Monday afternoon. The numbers, which include the reported cases from Jan. 8 to 10, indicate that 376 individuals tested positive for the coronavirus. There are no 715 active cases in the county. There were also four new deaths. Based on previously released data, the new fatalities appear to be one individual in their 90s, two individuals in their 80s and one individual in their 70s. There are 87 new cases in the Jamestown zip code, giving the city 203 active cases. There are also ...