I was completely outraged by reading a recent front page of the OBSERVER and an article headlined “Public defender says it’s too soon to judge bail reform.” Ned Barone, who is the county’s public defender, was arrogant in his remarks. He stated that he was disturbed by the level ...

Seed catalogs are beginning to arrive. As I paged through the Fedco catalog dreaming of ripe red tomatoes and huge heads of broccoli, I came across this quote, “I have faith that small farms, good food and thriving ecosystems will survive.” Our local small farms with rising costs and ...

I thought there was enough “lousy” news in the world today until I read the Section 6 committee’s decision regarding the upcoming division alignments for the 2020 high school football season. To be polite, let me quote the former New York Yankees’ broadcaster, Phil Rizzuto, and say, ...

Editor’s note: Former State University of New York at Fredonia professor and OBSERVER columnist George Sebouhian was preparing to write his life story when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013. He died three years later, having left behind hundreds of pages of research notes, poems and ...

Its heartbreaking to say the least to watch what has happened at Lakeshore Hospital. As a past employee of Lakeshore, I watched the crumbling after the Berger Commission told Lakeshore and Brooks to work together, cutting duplicate services and making a better, more efficient working hospital ...

“Marriage lasting for a single breeding season seems best suited to the life of most birds and is the most frequently practiced form of bird matrimony.” Again, I am quoting from “The Family Life of Birds” which has been written by Hans D. Dossenbach. He continues “(t)o be sure, ...

While the New York State Green Light Law provides undocumented aliens the opportunity to obtain New York state driver licenses, a less heralded — though perhaps more impactful — provision of the statute prevents the New York state Department of Motor Vehicles from sharing information with ...

A couple of days after the second session, Karl called me. Seems Morty asked them to drive him to talk with me. He wanted Karl and Lucy to join him. Also, he wanted the dog, too. I was fine with the plan. We made a mid-day appointment. I left extra time if Morty needed it. They arrived a tad ...

The words “Some Day,” seem to portray a faith in the future, which we all thrive on. Some day my love will come. Some day I’ll find you. Some day we will all meet in heaven. Some day we will finally understand. Some day the struggle will be over. Some day, is the promise of tomorrow. ...

Soon it will be Presidents Day; a day of passion and remembrance. Until 1971, both Wednesday and Feb. 22 were observed as federal public holidays to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) and George Washington (Feb. 22). In 1971 President Nixon proclaimed one single federal public ...

John Koch died in Naples, Fla., last week at age 97. He moved to Naples from Dunkirk 38 ago after selling his brewery and the death of his wife. As a result, most people in Dunkirk-Fredonia area do not remember him or know much about him. I have had the good fortune of knowing John and ...

A book that caught my attention in the library the other day was entitled “50 KNOTS YOU NEED TO KNOW.” I really don’t think I need to know that many knots. I believe I have led a pretty full life without a plethora of knot knowledge. (Excuse me, but I need to congratulate myself. I just ...

Village’s win benefits our region Editor, OBSERVER: I would like to offer some positive input to quiet some negative comments in public and on social media concerning the recent winner of the Small Business Revolution — Fredonia. l have lived in Dunkirk most of my life and have ...

Love is a many splendored thing — and can be quite confusing. What is love? How do we feel love? The Greeks had the right idea. They had at least six different words for love, depending on who or what was being loved. We often think of love as physical love or passion. Eros is what we feel ...

I recently wrote a letter critical of a mailing in the recent election to point out that erasing someone is not the way to safeguard the two-party system. The two-party system depends on having two parties. The state of democracy in Chautauqua County is so feeble that without cooperation ...

Sitting at my table, I’m delighted to see the red-belly pecking away at the suet. It’s always a male so I presume it’s the same one who visits me day after day. His red belly seems very obvious now, in wintertime. There were certainly many days when I wondered about the name — ...

Well, it’s budget time in Albany and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has released his $178 billion budget. That’s right $178 billion, which means we are dealing in real money. Also, as he is prone to do, he has, as one headline accurately described it, “packed it with proposed laws.” For instance, ...

We have seen many dark days since our United States of America became a nation in 1776; and we are still living in times of discord and uncertainty when it comes to our political arenas. But living through these times and preserving our freedoms has not been done out of laziness and apathy. ...

The insanity in Albany, our state capital, continues. Now the governor has signed a new law prohibiting any firearms in our schools. Throughout the state of New York, teachers cannot bear arms to protect their students from another massacre that could occur again in our school systems. In ...

Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. I’ll give you a case of a young man with dating anxiety, who after some prepping, was instructed to make three social contacts in the next week. If he is successful, he may miss an important lesson, since the probability is that he will not ...