Can you hear me now? There’s a chance that in some rural areas of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Erie counties the cell-phone reception still is not up to the 21st century standards. During Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State speech, which is not always endeared in our neck of the woods, ...
Al Gore really started something about 25 years ago when he used his public loudspeaker to scare us all into global warming. As I recall, we were all going to be under water by now. I’ve always been a doubter, because in our history the world has always had temperature ups and downs, due ...
Thirty years ago — 1990 Danielle Chiesi, a senior at Ripley Central School, has been selected Student of the Week. She is the daughter of Ralph and Marilyn Chiesi of Burton Avenue, Ripley. President of the National Honor Society, Danielle is vice president of her class and a member of the ...
Tuesday is Fredonia and northern Chautauqua County’s time to shine. Around 6:30 a.m. — or probably a little earlier — the Fredonia Opera House will open up to the community so it can find out if it is a top 5 finalist in the “Small Business Revolution” contest during a livestream ...
This time of the year, particularly — December, January, and February — we remember with special fondness our friends, and “auld acquaintance” is not forgotten. Friendships are a treasure of unsurpassed value. It has been said that “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” This was an ...
Thirty years ago — 1990 After more than 50 years of being a doctor (and one who still made house calls!), Dr. Alfred Heinemann officially retired from his practice on Dec. 31. The Germanborn doctor had been practicing medicine in the Chautauqua County area since 1939, having left Germany in ...
Board of Education members were fully tuned in earlier this week when the music program was being discussed at Fredonia Central Schools. Besides hearing an excellent performance, the board heard about the program's success in recent years from teacher Andrew Bennett. “Research has also ...
Lost in the recent political squabbling taking place in Dunkirk with the Common Council and the mayor is the recent award of nearly $3 million for the former Carriage House facility on Talcott Street. Last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Empire State Brands will receive $2,940,000 from ...
It’s unfortunate that we are living in an age where innuendo, gossip and political partisanship have more power than the truth. l was hired as the human resources director with the city of Dunkirk to accomplish some much needed and very specific goals. While completing these goals as set ...
Recently, a Fredonia writer submitted a letter to the OBSERVER (Jan. 4) in which she criticized three Sheridan Republican candidates, who were running for re-election. In the article she raised her concern with a sample ballot mailed to Sheridan voters identifying our positions on the ballot. ...
It’s property tax time again. The bills are arriving in the mail. Grrrr. And just so we’ll know why those taxes are where they are, we get a little explanation of what makes up the tax levy. Sure enough, Medicaid, and county tax make up a whopping 92 percent of my property tax. Grrrr. ...
Unless you’ve been in a cave for the past few months, you probably know that Prince Andrew was a pretty good friend of Jeffrey Epstein. That’s almost as bad as being a good friend of Bill Clinton. Being a friend of Epstein will not help you get a job working as a high school cheer leader ...
The year 2020. This is going to be a year of unending puns and jests: Hindsight is 2020; We see the world with 2020 vision; etc. Who knows? Maybe our vision will clear and we will see what we are doing to our planet. I’d like to talk about some anniversaries during the year 2020. Some ...
Recently, the front page of the OBSERVER’s Publisher’s notebook had a headline “Fragile Brooks may be on last legs” (Jan. 3). Such dramatics and histrionics are unnecessary and only serve to alarm the public while not including key facts. Moreover, blame is being placed in places that ...
The celebration of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is set for Jan. 19. This is a yearly event that some churches actively promote, while others only make mention, and some not at all. And so, it becomes timely in the continuation of our “What We Believe” series that consideration be given to ...
Thirty years ago — 1990 Fredonia native and resident Betsy S. Steger was recently appointed Chautauqua County attorney by the new county executive, Andrew Goodell. She succeeds Mr. Goodell in the job he held prior to his inauguration as county executive. Ms. Steger is the first woman ever ...
Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico just can’t seem to catch a break. Still attempting to recover from Hurricane Maria in 2017, many on the islands have been affected by a strong earthquake this week. In comparison to the hurricane, which killed nearly 3,000 people and caused nearly $100 ...
I am positively amazed how much I can learn with my head inside a dryer. No, not a hair dryer. Those days stuck with the big puffy rollers in that machine are long gone. (At least for me). I imagine back then the gossip must have been entertaining. I’m thinking of a clothes dryer and, ...
Trouble always seemed to find Billy Hall Jr. Even during the precious final days and hours of his life, Hall seemed to be a magnet for run-ins with the law or minor disagreements with friends or family members, according to Kimberly Hall Curtis, his sister. But what happened in the early ...
Fredonia and northern Chautauqua County better be ready to rise and shine on Tuesday morning. It is a significant day for the village and region when Deluxe and the “Small Business Revolution” determine what five towns remain in the final contest to win a $500,000 revitalization award. At ...