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It’s time to bring public comment back to Village Board meetings

Commentary

It was encouraging to watch the Monday, Aug. 24 Village Board workshop on YouTube. Kudos to Trustees Tim Mulholland, Christine Cruz-Keefe and LeeAnn Lazarony for voicing their support to reinstate the public comment sessions at Fredonia village board meetings. Mayor Michael Ferguson and Trustees Paul Wandel and Ben Brauchler continue to push their tired old chestnut that public comment should remain suspended for “safety reasons” while masking their real reason for suspending public comment from meetings in the first place. Whether it be downtown parking, parking on Forest Place, ...

Nosing around when it comes to area issues

Commentary

This week’s essay is a collection of random observations and perspectives regarding Dunkirk and Fredonia. (If anyone wants to question me about this, my lawyer has advised me to exercise my right to plead the fifth.) Something stinks in Dunkirk. I’m not talking about the eruptions that sometimes heat up City Hall. It’s about the air in the Fourth ward, where the ice cream factory continues to have a big waste management problem. Despite the economic boom it promises (like 260 new jobs when it's all done), the bad smell continues. Combined with the smoky air drifting our way ...

Having a game plan for life

Commentary

About three or four years ago, I wrote two articles for some of my ex-players who now coach basketball on the junior varsity, varsity and collegiate level. I described the similarities and differences between coaching basketball and coaching clients with alcohol and other drug problems. The behaviors are similar, but more important than that is the thinking process of both players and clients. When players come to the gym for basketball tryouts in early November, if the coach is new, he or she actually knows very little about the 50 to 100 kids trying out for the team. After many years ...

Nation’s leadership keeps overseeing unsteady ship

Commentary

The United States is in real trouble — and we are being lied to. We had 15 bases in the Middle East and now we have two. Neither of them are big enough to resupply an aircraft carrier. That is why the crew of more than 5,000 sailors on the USS Lincoln were facing littoral starvation. There are other U.S. Navy ships in the area also in dire straits. It’s up to us to keep the pressure up. The most basic thing a country does for its armed services is feed them. This administration is completely incompetent. They do not know or care if everyone has enough to eat. Call U.S. Rep. Nick ...

We have power to make great things happen here

Commentary

Have you ever visited a town that just feels welcoming? Maybe the streets are lively, the parks are inviting, local businesses are thriving, and people seem proud to call it home. Then you wonder, "How did they make that happen?" The truth is, it usually starts with people who care about their community. Communities don't become vibrant overnight. More often than not, progress begins with neighbors, volunteers, business owners, and local leaders who decide to work together toward a shared vision. One of the best ways to create positive change is through something called ...

Finding loose change won’t bolster city finances

The OBSERVER’s View

It is becoming obvious that those who are addressing the Common Council in Dunkirk are penny wise and pound foolish. As the city navigates through a major financial mess, those stepping forward to complain about $15,000 pay bumps — for a combined position — and out-of-town union officials seeking pay increases, definitely ignore a bigger picture. Even with about $500,000 awarded by the state to Dunkirk’s coffers, there is a big problem with the bottom line for 2026. As we have stated in this column before, the $30 million spending plan approved by the last Common Council is not ...