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In June, snow is usually the last thing on people’s minds, but that wasn’t the case this past June for one weekend at the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds.

The 20th annual Vintage Snowmobile National Show was held at the Fairgrounds in Dunkirk this past summer. The Sno-Goers Vintage Chapter, Cherry Creek, and the Old Drifters Vintage Snowmobile Club, Springville, presented the show, with more than 500 vintage snowmobiles on display.

The event brought together enthusiasts and vintage snowmobiles of all makes and models for the first time in the Western New York region in its 20 years of existence. Racing legends were on hand for autographs and photos.

Over the course of a weekend, while patrolling Boutwell Hill State Forest, State Forest Rangers checked more than 150 snowmobiles and issued multiple tickets for illegal mufflers and registration violations.

The event fostered the love of snowmobiling in Western New York, which is as strong as ever.

Snowmobile trails in New York State span roughly 775,000 acres of State Forests. From the New York State Snowmobile Trail system to the more local State Forest Trail Systems, snowmobile groups have plenty of terrain to cover each winter.

The New York State Snowmobile Trail System is a network of more than 10,500 miles of snowmobile corridor trails. Among the many local trails is Cherry Creek’s Boutwell State Forest, where 6.5 miles of snowmobile trails are maintained by the Cherry Creek Sno-Goers Snowmobile Club.

The collaborative efforts of snowmobile clubs and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) help foster the passion for the outdoors for residents and tourists alike, all who take in the beauty of our region during the winter months from the back of a snowmobile.

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Pictured are protesters at a No Kings rally in Jamestown earlier this year. Similar protests were held throughout the county spanning several months.

Back in July, reports swirled surrounding the Chautauqua Institution. Following the resignation of President Michael Hill, the Institution began a shift in a new direction.

Budget issues brought changes to the institution’s programs and staff moving forward. The Chautauqua community, including its Board of Trustees, is actively engaged in shaping the institution’s future, which is expected to include new speakers that are deemed “exciting and meaningful” to the community.

The institution board stressed an evaluation of the institution’s programs in terms of relevance and affordability, while also doing more to make sure the institution maintains its financial health. The institution has been spending more than its yearly revenue.

A fact sheet sent to property owners stated, “The greater goal of assuring Chautauqua is here for another 150 years is paramount and that the difficult choices we must make today are worth it to assure Chautauqua’s future.”

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While the uncertainty of what’s to come at the institution could leave some feeling uneasy, hundreds of students and staff at Cassadaga Job Corps underwent even more uncertainty this past year.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced this past summer that it was “pausing Job Corps Center operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.”

Locally, the Cassadaga Job Corps Center, located on Glasgow Road just outside the village, is one of 99 non-federally operated Job Corps centers. The Village of Cassadaga strongly opposed the pause on Job Corps for a variety of reasons, spanning from its impact on the surrounding community’s workforce to the financial benefit to the village itself as a taxpayer and water customer.

Also regarding a financial impact, Village Trustee Cathy Cruver stressed that Job Corps helps individuals find substantial employment, which creates taxpayers in the community. “Those things need to be taken into account,” Cruver said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Job Corps program operated at a $140 million deficit in 2024. The deficit is projected to reach $213 million in 2025.

The Cassadaga Job Corps Center has a graduation rate of 39.53%, according to a Department of Labor official. The cost per graduate in Cassadaga is $123,654.22.

Trustee Cindy Flaherty stated that the reason the graduation rate is so low and the cost per graduate is so high is because students who opt to pursue a GED rather than a traditional diploma do not count toward the total as graduates until they obtain a career training certificate. Flaherty said if students who receive a GED counted toward the total figure, the graduation rate would be near 90% and the cost per graduate would be significantly lower.

“Sometimes it can be hard for people to get through high school. Sometimes it can be hard for people to find jobs. If we can provide folks with certifications and skills, it can only make our county, our village, our state, our country stronger,” Cruver said.

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The pause on Job Corps was far from the only politically charged event this past year. Events were held throughout the county in protest of the current state of affairs in our county, state, and nation as a whole.

Among the most notable events were the No Kings protests, held throughout the nation in protest of the direction of the country under President Donald Trump.

One protest in Fredonia held in June brought hundreds down Central Avenue to Barker Commons, with speakers and music echoing through downtown Fredonia. There were similar events held in Dunkirk and in Silver Creek in the north county, as well as in Jamestown in the southern end of the county.

A group under the name of the Chautauqua Action Team organized a “rally for democracy” on Aug. 28 at the Silver Creek Village Square and Gazebo. Members of the group described themselves as “law-abiding people” who seek to peacefully protest policies, ideas and actions recently taken by the federal government.

“We will be respectful. We have been respectful everywhere we’ve been. We are easy to talk to. We are into exchanging ideas with other people,” said Martha Boutet, a Hanover resident.

Boutet claimed that people have expressed a desire to see the people “who believe that our democracy is important and we will speak up for it.”