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The OBSERVER’s View

The OBSERVER’s View

An artist’s rendering of the former Third Street post office features a big Chautauqua County logo on the building’s wall facing Jamestown City Hall instead of the Lucille Ball mural that was also used as a U.S. postage stamp. We’re sure it’s artistic license as part of a sales pitch rather than a serious proposal to actually remove the mural, but the artist’s rendering raises a question that we hope Chautauqua County legislators keep in mind before they vote on a proposal to consolidate the county’s Jamestown offices into the post office building - what else looks funny ...

Dealing with the heat of summer

Commentary

One day, a week or so ago, when it was 91 degrees, I drove by the electric power plant run by the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in Jamestown. I thought, and it turned out to be true, that the natural gas turbine there was running at full bore—pumping electricity into a statewide grid that needed it badly. Jamestown, itself, didn’t need the power—it gets most of what it needs from the Niagara Power Project at Niagara Falls. But, the statewide grid needed every available resource online to ensure that the air conditioner load in New York City and the metropolitan area didn’t ...

The OBSERVER’s View

The OBSERVER’s View

It’s hard to imagine a time when the Chautauqua Belle wasn’t a fixture on the waters of Chautauqua Lake. But that’s exactly what our reality would be if not for James Webster, the Rochester man who had the vision to bring a paddlewheel steamship to Chautauqua Lake in the early 1970s. Webster collaborated with Capt. Alan Bates, who designed the ship around the same time Bates designed the Natchez, another steamship still in use in New Orleans. For a time, Mayville was marketed as Steamship Village when the Chautauqua Belle was still in its relative infancy, and many still make ...

Standing for America, our anthem

Commentary

Two teenagers with rifles hid in the forest and marveled at the sight before them. Daniel Wells and Henry Macomas didn't understand why anyone, especially a British general who didn't want to be shot, would dress himself in a bright red coat and sit on a white horse 100 yards in front of them. All they knew was the Red Coats had burned Washington D.C. a few days earlier and now they had come to burn Baltimore. Well, Daniel and Henry would not stand for that, so the boys took careful aim and fired. To this day we don't know if it was Daniel or Henry who's shot found its mark. All we ...

More than food when dining out

Commentary

Eating out at a restaurant can be tricky business. Many of the bad things that might happen are purely accidental. They are unavoidable, random surprises, like when a waitress trips and drops a tray of hot tamales on your head, or the woman in the booth behind you chokes on a fish bone, or you discover a hair clip in your spaghetti. However, other potential incidents might be anticipated, or at least better understood, with some insight as to what really goes on behind the scenes in places like Applebees, Olive Garden, Outback, and other popular restaurants. The hostess or host is ...

Village water meeting remarks, moments and mindbenders

Commentary

On Thursday, July 9, members of Save Our Reservoir and other interested and concerned citizens attended the Water Forum sponsored by the Village of Fredonia, The Chautauqua County Health Department and LaBella Engineering. The event was held at the yet to be renovated new location of Pomfret Town Hall. Observations, thoughts and lingering questions from this group of citizens and from me regarding this meeting and Fredonia’s water project are listed below. Driving to the future location of Pomfret Town Hall it was noticeable that there are no sidewalks which would allow for ...