“It’s unfortunate with what’s going on that some of them felt like they had to close,” First Ward Councilman Don Williams shared with the OBSERVER this week. “I know that during this pandemic so far that a lot of the clubs have lost a lot of business and are hanging on by a thread. I’m hoping that we can figure out something soon to help the financial impact of some of these clubs that have again been around for 100-plus years.”

Williams said the clubs are what the community leans on for extra support.

“They sponsor Little League teams, hockey teams, soccer teams, they sponsor everything and now they are really hurting and in the near future maybe the city can help do a fundraiser for them,” Williams said.

Williams stressed the need for people need to do what they can during the pandemic as his family as well as Third Ward Councilman James Stoyle have both suffered from the coronavirus; this was the reason Stoyle was absent from Tuesday’s Common Council meeting.

“My family suffered through that (COVID) during Christmas,” Williams said Tuesday night. “Five of us in the family from ages 1 to 81, it’s here, it’s not that great to have and we’re all still getting over it. People can mask up and social distance and do whatever they need to and hopefully everyone stays safe.”

Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas noted the increase in local COVID-19 cases.

“We have not forced anyone to close,” he said. “I’m not sure if the Health Department asked them to close or not. The numbers speak for themselves, there has been an increase in positive tests, there has also been an increase in hospitalizations and we know that there has been at least two deaths the last couple of days of people that I knew personally. So it’s understandable; I think that this was the right way to go.”

At Tuesday’s Common Council meeting Rosas reminded everyone watching that the pandemic is still here and it’s not going away.

Viewing the buildings around the city a lone sign hung on the Kosciuszko Club’s door stating that they will be temporarily closed until Jan. 17 when they will then reopen at 2 p.m. that day.