Special to the OBSERVER LAKEWOOD — A ground breaking ceremony was held recently to commemorate the beginning of construction for the hospice residence adjacent to Chautauqua Hospice and Palliative Care administrative offices at 20 W. Fairmount Ave., Lakewood. The groundbreaking ...

GOWANDA — The village is facing a lawsuit put forth by Dorothy Myers Watson of Tonawanda and William Worden Watson Jr. of North Tonawanda stemming from an alleged illegal inspection and entry done by the code enforcement officer. The mother and son are rental property owners throughout ...

Bellwether. Defined as “an indicator or predictor of something,” it’s one of the many buzzwords or phrases thrown around with ease at this time of year — many times in the same breath as “swing state” and “red state” or “blue state.” But its accuracy toward ...

Hyperbole is rampant in describing Tuesday’s election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden as the “most important election” of one’s lifetime. With the United States still battling COVID-19, a summer of social justice movements and wildfires engulfing ...

Another death and 22 new cases of COVID-19 were reported by the Chautauqua County Health Department on Friday as officials acknowledged October as the most troubling month of the pandemic with 389 total cases. In addition, the county finally acknowledged what the OBSERVER had been reporting ...

A Fredonia firefighter awaiting a promotion — and two fires handled without immediate supervision in late August by the village department — has led to a filing in state Supreme Court in Mayville. Fredonia Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 2931 and Timothy Winters, president of ...

MAYVILLE — A surge of COVID-19 cases continues to plague Chautauqua County. The Health Department reported 32 new cases with 138 active. The new cases come include: seven from Dunkirk, six from Jamestown, five from Fredonia, four in Lakewood, three in Forestville, two in Silver Creek and ...

An internal fight among members of the Chautauqua County Democratic Party has spilled into the public over the appointment of who will become the next Democratic election commissioner. On Wednesday, five county legislators each agreed to withdraw the name of Luz Torres to become the ...

Campaign season, even in a world not facing a pandemic, never comes across as normal. With early voting already in full swing since Saturday, it appears many have made up their mind regarding the slate of candidates. This year’s race for president has plenty of prominence for those in ...

The two candidates running for district attorney for Chautauqua County recently squared off for an hour-long virtual debate sponsored by the county League of Women Voters. Starting the debate was challenger Jason Schmidt. He talked about growing up in Queens “in a bad neighborhood” and ...

A petition requesting the reopening of the Fredonia Central School has started to circulate online as a number of community members are losing patience regarding a return to classes for students. Listed on ipetitions.com the document states that parents and taxpayers in the district are upset ...

Negotiations continue between Fredonia and Pomfret officials on a new water and sewer contract, with Fredonia’s latest offer being Pomfret customers paying 15% more than Fredonia residents pay. The previous contract was for 30 years. Pomfret is paying $8.16 per thousand gallons, but town ...

Editor’s Note: This is the third part of a three-part debate between candidates for the New York State 23rd Congressional District. It might be difficult to believe, but the challenger for the New York State 23rd Congressional District, Tracy Mitrano, D-Penn Yan, and incumbent Tom Reed, ...

The Chautauqua County Legislature has approved a property tax increase for county residents. On Wednesday, the legislature voted 18 to 1 to approve the proposed budget for 2021. The new budget has a levy of $67,183,543 with a tax rate of $8.51 per $1,000 assessed valuation. Legislator Terry ...

There will be trick-or-treating in both Dunkirk and Fredonia on Saturday in addition to the Dunkirk Police Department’s National Night Out and Halloween celebration. The Dunkirk Police Department’s National Night Out and Halloween celebration is from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Washington ...

It appears sixth- to 12th-grade students in the Fredonia Central Schools may be returning to classes right before the Thanksgiving holiday. In a letter to families, Dr. Colleen Taggerty said the hybrid model for these students will begin Nov. 23. Group two students will attend school on that ...

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a three-part debate between candidates for the New York State 23rd Congressional District. The challenger in the race for the New York State 23rd Congressional District believes constituents are worse off following the coronavirus outbreak not ...

It’s the most colorful time of the year. As crisp autumn temperatures continue throughout Western New York, most of the foliage is at peak or past peak levels from Niagara Falls-Buffalo to Allegany County, according to the I Love NY weekly report. “In the Chautauqua-Allegheny region, ...

While COVID-19 cases in the county continue to show gradual increases, infections at the State University of New York at Fredonia have on the decline. On Monday, there were 111 active cases across the county, with only about 12 of those being at the college. This is a complete turnaround from ...

Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a three-part debate between candidates for the New York State 23rd Congressional District. The candidates for the 23rd Congressional District of New York were asked what they will do if elected to work toward finding middle ground as a growing ...