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Busy weekend a draw for county

The OBSERVER’s View

It is Chautauqua County’s time to shine. Besides the regular staples that include Music on the Pier in Dunkirk and area Farmers’ Markets, there’s reason to believe this could be one of the biggest tourism weekends of the year. Other major events taking place include: — The 81st annual rodeo will be through Saturday. Shows at 8 p.m. Thrill to PRCA events, with bareback bronc, saddle bronc, bull riding, tie down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, and breakaway roping. Rain or Shine! 20 vendors at midway. — The National Comedy Center’s Lucille Ball Comedy ...

The marauding creatures of the night

Commentary

They are thieves. The bigger ones are bandits. What’s more surprising is that they are assisting our housekeeping efforts. I’m talking about the fact that we seem to be hosting a mini traffic jam on our deck in the middle of the night. They are eaters, but so far, the good kind. Two nights ago, as darkness set, Dear Richard was heading inside from our dinner on the deck. Since we had chomped down two luscious cobs of corn each, he was carrying the butter dish along with his dishes. Somehow, between the table and the living room door, he tipped the butter dish and the ...

Strong trio put nation, not party first

Commentary

The passing of Sen. Lindsey Graham got me wondering about political alliances he made with two other senators. They were John McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona, and the 2008 presidential nominee and Joe Lieberman, an Independent senator from Connecticut and former Democratic 2000 vice presidential nominee. McCain was a Naval hero, and a two-time presidential contender. He was born into a military family where both his father and grandfather were four-star Navy admirals. McCain became a Navy attack pilot. In 1967, during the Vietnam War his plane was shot down over Hanoi. He ...

Parking often a real predicament

The OBSERVER’s View

One of the more controversial topics to come to Fredonia in recent months — that did not involve water — was a potential parking plan that would have made motorists pay for spots through a cellphone app. While some questioned the lack of the program being user friendly, especially for those who do not use smart phones, the reality is this type of parking program is located in many areas of New York state, including Buffalo and highly trafficked tourist locations. Parking meters are out — and cellphone apps are in. When there is a vibrant downtown, parking can be an important ...

1969 Ripley grads still enjoying the journey

Commentary

The Ripley Central School Class of 1969 members turned or will turn 75 this year. To celebrate this three-quarter century event, I decided to have a birthday party for us, aided by Patricia Hunt Albaugh. How cool, eh? From a class of less than 40 people, on July 18 22 classmates and spouses ...

On the matter of people who are homeless

Commentary

There have been several news articles recently about the problems faced by people who are homeless in Chautauqua County. Much of the news has been about where they are being housed...usually in older and underused hotels. Whether we like it or not, the provider of last resort is the county ... that means county taxpayers are “on the hook” for paying for it. There is some state aid to assist—but the burden of addressing the problem falls on the county. “Homelessness,” of course, is a broad term. In some cases, people become homeless when they can’t afford to pay their rent. ...