Breaking News

USDA agrees to purchase of additional grape juice from region

One week after U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer stood with Western New York grape farmers in Chautauqua County who had their contracts for this season terminated, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has heeded a call to purchase surplus product to ensure the continued success of Concord grape growers. ...

City plans water rate hikes

The city of Dunkirk is planning to increase its water rates on Jan. 1. Officials are eyeing an increase in the base rate that all city water customers pay, from $20 to $30. A discontinuation of the declining block rate, which lets industrial users pay less after reaching certain usage ...

Amherst man facing rape charges in Fredonia case

An Amherst man, formerly of Fredonia is facing second-degree rape charges after he allegedly engaged in sexual contact with a 13-year-old female. The charges, by the Fredonia Police Department, were announced following an investigation that alleges Hayden J. Burrows, 22, was with the victim. ...

Two-wheel talk

SILVER CREEK — With school about to begin, residents of the village of Silver Creek have voiced their concerns at the last two Village Board meetings about the dangers of children riding e-bikes in the village. The topic first came up in early August, as Anna Frederickson sparked a ...

Judge overturns ruling on city worker

A judge has vacated an arbitrator’s ruling against a city of Dunkirk employee who sued City Hall after getting laid off. State Supreme Court Judge Grace Hanlon ruled that an arbitrator made an improper decision against Kim Robbins. The arbitrator, Michael Whelan, ruled the city did not violate its contract with Robbins’ union when it laid her off in February 2025. However, Hanlon cited a case where an arbitrator’s decision against a corrections officer over alleged employee handbook violations was tossed out, “as the Court of Appeals found the arbitrator had exceeded his ...

Group aims to save Ripley bat habitat

RIPLEY — “Lucy!” cried one bat researcher to Jonathan Townsend. Lucy is the affectionate nickname for the Little Brown Bat, also known as Myotis lucifugus. “It’s too hard to shout Myotis lucifugus during research” claimed Townsend, “so we all shout Lucy! when we find a Little Brown Bat.” That’s been harder to do in recent years. Historically, Chautauqua County had some of the best Little Brown Bat habitat in Western New York. The Chautauqua Institution had a Little Brown Bat maternity colony estimated to have 10,000 bats. Another famous maternity colony was in ...