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Opinion

Is county budget plan realistic?

The OBSERVER’s View

County Executive PJ Wendel is proposing a 58-cent tax rate decrease and no tax levy increase in his 2027 budget. Not increasing the levy is due, in part, to increased use of the county’s surplus while the county’s tax rate decrease is due, in part, to a 14% increase in the value of property in the county. It’s a good position for the county to be in - because we are pretty sure when we see budget proposals from Jamestown and Dunkirk in a couple of weeks the pictures won’t be nearly that pretty. In addition, the county plans to spend an additional $100,000 on Chautauqua Lake ...

The bridge is in a race with winter

Commentary

It looks to me like construction activity has been increasing on the Chautauqua Lake Bridge as winter begins to close in. Will the DOT be able to beat winter and finish the two lanes on the southside before the construction season ends? I would say that the chances are “fifty-fifty,” yet, let’s hope that it can be done. The pouring of new concrete decking has been accelerating. There are now two concrete leveling machines in view on the bridge so that two sections of new deck can be laid at the same time. Instead of being continuous, some of the new deck sections are being ...

Encouraging news from south county

The OBSERVER’s View

We are encouraged by the news that Carroll and Kiantone are creating a committee to examine additional shared services between the towns. It's early, and we don't know where these discussions will go in the future, but for now the fact that the towns are brainstorming more ways to collaborate is a positive development. Something Tim Burkett, Carroll town supervisor, said during the August Carroll Town Board meeting is worth examining as we look for more ways to provide better services and save taxpayers money. Burkett said it makes sense for the two towns to share services since many ...

Oh Canada, we are sorry

Commentary

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, as American forces stormed Omaha Beach at a cost of 2,800 lives, our Canadian neighbors and friends stormed Juno Beach at a cost of 381 lives. (Our population in 1944 was 130,000,000, more than 10 times Canada’s 12,000,000). Canadians served alongside our armed forces in Korea, Vietnam, Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Iraq, and in Afghanistan after the 9-11 attack on our Country. Until Donald Trump became President and treated Canada with no respect, as a non-nation that should be our 51st State, as something to be punished with punitive tariffs, ...

Still not ready to jump on 'brand'-wagon

Commentary

Brand. Algorithms. Influencer. Viral. These words make me cringe every time I hear them. The concept of “brand” imposed itself on me recently. In an effort to promote my substack page, “Howard’s Hues,” I paid a consultant (a real person) a couple hundred bucks for a half-hour live video session. It seemed like a good investment if I was to ever reach a wider audience and make some money from my writing. The woman seemed very knowledgeable regarding the marketing process, and, having skimmed through a couple of my essays, she appeared enthusiastic about Howard’s Hues and its ...

An easy to follow formula for Fredonia’s NCWD project

Commentary

Some concerning statements were quoted in the front page OBSERVER article of Sept. 15, "District in red, open to talks with the city." North County Water District Chairman Dan Pacos was quoted as saying that the NCWD has lost $150k in the fiscal year through August. Pacos was also quoted questioning SUNY Professor Peter Reinelt’s formula for calculating the water rates that Dunkirk charges the NCWD and that are then up-charged to water customers. This is not the first time that Pacos has questioned Reinelt’s calculations and cautioned that having a sole individual calculating water ...