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Council comments are ‘inappropriate’

I am writing in response to the recent article concerning the homeless individual residing on the benches near City Hall in Dunkirk (May 10-11). I was deeply disheartened by the tone and content of the remarks made by several of our city officials, which reflected a disturbing lack of compassion, professionalism, and understanding of the complex issue of homelessness. Councilwoman Natalie Luczkowiak’s assertion that “the only one that can save him is himself” blatantly ignores the well-documented relationship between homelessness and mental health. Being “young, healthy, ...

Bridge reconstruction ramps up

I don’t know if you have observed it, but it looks to me like there are at least double the number of people as usual now working on the Chautauqua Lake bridge. It is obvious that the contractor is taking advantage of the good weather and reconstruction work is ramping up. What you see visually is that new decking is proceeding on the south side of the bridge coming from both ends of the bridge towards the middle. I don’t know all of the engineering reasons, but it seems to make common sense, as this is the way the original bridge was built, i.e. after the girders were ...

Constituent wants response from Langworthy

I am a constituent of the 23rd district in New York state. I have become increasingly dismayed with the lack of communication and concern for the constituents of this district that U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy has shown. Since Feb. 23, I have written four emails with my concerns about President Trump and his total disregard for not only the health, welfare and education of the people living in the United States and abroad but also for his total disregard of orders from multiple courts and to the Constitution of the United States. In addition, I have made multiple phone calls to each of ...

NCCF Local Economic Development group: Region has to adapt for its future

There’s no stopping the march of time. Making this more difficult for some is the increasingly rapid pace of change. In many cases, people and businesses are having to adapt much faster than ever before. Think back to how quickly many of us were forced to change the way we did things a mere five years ago during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of people and businesses struggled miserably in the beginning, but the most adaptable survived. Ultimately, some of those adaptations ended and we reverted to the way things were before. However, other modifications appear ...

Worries over rights, privileges add to nonsense

Judging from recent commentary, it seems the definitions of rights and privileges have been conflated in our political discourse. To start: A legal right is an action that an individual can take that cannot be legally infringed by other people or by the government. Natural rights for American citizens are defined in the second sentence of the Declaration, and are constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights. Logically, one person’s rights cannot contradict another person’s Rights; else they cannot be considered rights. A privilege always requires infringement of one ...

Courageous parishioners might prevail

On seven previous occasions over the course of the previous century, six familiar Latin words have come forth in Vatican City. In 1939, 1958, 1963, 1978 twice, 2005, and 2013. They follow white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and, beginning in 2005, the ringing of the bells in St. Peter’s Square. They come from a cardinal on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus papam.” If you’ve ever learned a Romance language, you probably don’t need a translation: “I announce to you a great joy. We have a pope.” With those ...