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Legislature OKs new paralegal, security gates at airport

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County is moving forward with a plan to add staff to its Law Department, although not all county leaders are in support of the move. During the recent legislature meeting, county lawmakers voted 18-1 to use $105,982 from the county’s unobligated fund balance. About half of the money will be used to hire a new paralegal to help deal with the increase of Freedom Of Information Requests. The other half will be used to cover a budgetary error in 2026. Voting no to the resolution was Legislator Fred Johnson, R-Westfield. During a prior committee meeting, ...

Judges to be required to visit jails

Judges serving in criminal and family courts will be required to visit a prison, jail or other detention starting in January 2028. The rule was announced recently by the state Unified Court System under rules being implemented by Judge Rowan Masters, the state’s chief judge. The rule would ...

Silver Creek celebrates ‘coaches’ at graduation

SILVER CREEK — Silver Creek Central School District celebrated its 74th annual commencement by encouraging the 64 graduating seniors to put in the hard work and seize the day. On Friday, the Class of 2026 proceeded to the stage to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance” and the program ...

Gillibrand, others push to cap Medicare costs

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee, along with 14 of her Senate colleagues, introduced the Medicare Cost Cap Act to create a $5,000 cap on out-of-pocket costs for Traditional Medicare (Parts A and B) beneficiaries. Currently, Traditional Medicare does not have a limit on out-of-pocket costs, meaning beneficiaries are confronted with unlimited, catastrophic health care costs if they face serious illness or hospitalization. Medicare Advantage (MA), employer-sponsored insurance, and insurance bought on the marketplace all have annual caps on ...

Mason Award nominations being sought

Nominations are now being accepted by United Way of Chautauqua County (UWCHQ) for the 2026 Joseph H. Mason Award, an annual honor recognizing a local union member — active or retired — who demonstrates exceptional commitment to community service. Now in its 45th year, the award pays ...

Gowanda commends Nephew for Board tenure

GOWANDA — The final Gowanda Board of Education meeting of the school marked the end of Mark Nephew’s tenure with the district. After 27 years as a Board member, Nephew is stepping down. Nephew, the Mayor of Gowanda, was commended by Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson and the Board at his ...