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Rate hike one more pain for city residents

The OBSERVER’s View

It appears more hurt is coming for city of Dunkirk residents. A public hearing will take place Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. on changes to water rates. Proposals would raise the minimum usage fee from $20 to $30 and boost the price of water used over a gallon benchmark to $5 per 1,000 gallons, from the current $4.33 — a 17% increase. While the hike will not go over well with users, Comptroller Tracy Smith-Dengler points out that the new rates will “still be substantially lower than neighboring communities." That does nothing to ease the burden on taxpayers, who continue paying a high price ...

Sept. 11 Events Are Firmly In Memories

Commentary

CHAUTAUQUA—If you’re more than, say, 35 years old, you’ll recall where you were when you heard the first news bulletins of 25 years ago today. Maybe you were in school or college. Maybe you were at work. Maybe you were running errands. Maybe you were with relatives or ...

On devastating day, news coverage took center stage

Editor's corner

Headlines and heartache filled this day exactly 25 years ago. Across the nation, stunned residents gathered in front of televisions or turned on radios for minute-by-minute updates on the horrors happening in our homeland. Another large segment of the population turned to newspapers — that ...

25 years later, we cannot forget

The OBSERVER’s View

Do you remember where you were exactly six months ago at 8:47 a.m.? Probably not. But if we ask where you were 25 years ago at 8:47 a.m., chances are you will remember the moment as if it were yesterday. Sept. 11, 2001, was, without question, one of the most horrific in the history of the United States of America. At 8:47 a.m., the lives of all Americans changed when American Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center. Fifteen minutes later, United Flight 175 hit the second tower. An hour later, American Flight 77 hit the Pentagon in Washington. And, in a heroic twist, passengers ...

Finding a proper perspective in 9/11, aftermath

Commentary

How can it be 25 years? We keep asking that about 9/11 and it proves one of my favorite sayings, “Time’s a noodle.” I remember the 25-year anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, in 1988. I was 10. It was one of the first times I noticed “wall-to-wall” media coverage about something. But 1963 seemed completely mysterious to me, like another world. It was 15 years before I was born. It makes me wonder, “What do we tell the children today about 9/11?” Here are some thoughts: — It was a very bad day for anyone with a shred of human decency. And yet, ...

History comes alive in Sinclairville

The OBSERVER’s View

America is still in the midst of its 250th birthday celebration. In Chautauqua County, one community always remembers its history during the early weeks of September. On Saturday, the 27th annual Sinclairville History Fair takes place starting at 7 a.m. with a breakfast prepared by the Sinclairville 76ers. In the later hours is a grand parade, chicken barbecue, street dance, fireworks, craft show, farmers' market, music, horse drawn wagon rides, bounce houses, and more. One of the more fascinating pieces to the event is the 200th anniversary of the Sinclairville Baptist Church. ...