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Star power fueled company’s rise

Editor’s note: North county business and community leader Stanley Albert Star died Friday, May 29 at 89. Here is a column written in 2014 that highlights his work in creating Cliffstar. What started as a kosher wine business in northern Chautauqua County near the turn of the 20th century became one of the greatest success stories that Dunkirk-Fredonia has ever known. In 1971, Stanley Star and his Uncle Leo Star created Cliffstar, which would become the nation’s largest private-label juice company. “I was convinced that the popularity of juice as a regular drink was going to grow ...

A beautiful day on the expressway

Most people now call it I-86, but I still call it the “Southern Tier Expressway.” That expresses what it truly is. On an overcast day last fall, my wife and I were returning from the Syracuse area where one of our kids lives. It is quicker to take the Thruway to get home, but I always opt for the back roads and the expressway that threads through the hills of the Southern Tier. As we came up the big hill heading west from Bath, the clouds were almost touching the ground as we came to the summit of the pass at Howard. When we drove by Hornell, I said to my wife, “I think we will ...

Blaming state won’t bring jobs back

Bush Industries is closing, leaving more than 200 people without work in the south of the county. In a region that has already absorbed losses from Truck-Lite and Serta, this is not just another closure. It’s a blow to the foundation of our community. And once again, instead of sitting with that reality and doing the hard work to solve it, our Republican leadership is reaching for a familiar script. Blame New York state. Sen. George Borrello and Assemblyman Andrew Molitor both pointed to “burdensome regulations” and the cost of doing business in New York as the ...

Sadness, anger and rage in family grief

Last month, in this column, I wrote about the grief of the families going through the unexpected death of their children due to school shootings. This month, I’d like to explore that idea further, of what behaviors and thinking patterns happen to members of these families and all families dealing with traumatic losses. In my tenure as a C.D. Counselor, (chemical dependency), I had the privilege to work with many families. I had never dreamed of being a family counselor, helping those going through intense grief due to one thing or another. I’m going to go through a number of ...

Coach, teacher touched many lives

When I was in fourth grade at the Babcock Elementary school in Silver Creek, I can remember our teacher telling us we had a new gym class instructor. Apparently he was fresh out of college (22 years old) and everyone was very excited to meet him! As it turned out, Mr. Curt Raymond would ...

Small world facing danger with disease

Ebola in Africa. Hantavirus on a cruise ship. A measles outbreak kills 560 children in Bangladesh, sickens 60,000. Major diseases are making the news. We ask ourselves, is this the next big one? Maybe. We are certainly doing everything possible to make ourselves vulnerable. President Donald Trump pulled us out of the World Health Organization.They are the source of the most valuable information. Who is spreading what and how? He also canceled billions of dollars in research grants to universities. Anything we might have been ahead of we are behind now. Hundreds of scientists have ...