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Opinion

Leaders step up on merger plans

The OBSERVER’s View

Too often, we look to New York state government for money to help solve our problems. One of those problems has been the merger of local governments and school districts. We still don’t think the state has been proactive enough on that front, particularly after the 2008-09 Lundine Commission’s recommendations focused on local government consolidation. And we’ve been critical in the past of the county not pushing harder when it comes to shared services proposals. So it’s hard to criticize County Executive PJ Wendel for finding county money to help with two current merger ...

The newspaper and local sports

Commentary

This week I opened the newspaper, and there on the front of the Sports Page was an incredible photograph of three girls from Frewsburg with hands raised celebrating their State Championship in basketball for the second year in a row. It wasn’t just the photograph but also the write-up which made the article so powerful. There was an analysis of how the game played out, how the team rallied, what the coach had to say, and, of course, the euphoria that swept the crowd and the small community of Frewsburg upon being named State Champions once again in Class C Girls Basketball. I have ...

Economy drives people out of state

Commentary

Across New York, families and businesses are facing an affordability crisis that is making it increasingly difficult to live, work, and stay here. High taxes, rising energy costs, burdensome regulations and the ever-growing cost of living are pushing people to leave the state. The data tells a troubling story. Since Governor Kathy Hochul took office in 2021, more than 1,045,000 people have left New York for other states through domestic migration. Recent data shows that in just the past year alone, New York lost more than 137,000 residents to other states, bringing the five-year total ...

COUNTY: Loss of Refresco a hit to farming

The OBSERVER’s View

Farming has been a way of life for many in Chautauqua County for as long as there has been a Chautauqua County. That way of life is increasingly difficult, as we were all reminded recently when news broke that Refresco, a grape processing plant located on Talcott Street in Dunkirk, is ending its relationship with 126 grape growers throughout the region. Officials with the Lake Erie Regional Grape Project have known since the end of the 2025 grape harvest that growers need to make changes. Jennifer Phillips Russo, Cornell Lake Erie Regional Grape Program Team Leader and Viticulture ...

Attacking the fears that bring paralysis to individuals

Commentary

Last month I wrote about loneliness, and gave the reader options about managing it. If you have never thought about it, loneliness, over a long period of time, creates thinking patterns of fear. Just as the gentleman in my Halfway House was deathly afraid to ride in an elevator because according to him, “these things go down and kill people.” The fact that Herman, my client at Friends of Cazenovia Manor Halfway House had been a loner his whole life and had massive trust issues led to many irrational thoughts with little proof to back up his irrational thinking. As you may recall, ...

What we have is a failure to communicate

Commentary

I have a friend who is an unabashed Trump supporter. When I asked him what he thought of Trump’s State of the Union address, he told me that he didn’t need to watch the SOTU and that he rarely watches Trump’s speeches. My friend told me that although he doesn’t care for Trump’s personality and delivery, my buddy believes in MAGA and the America First message. As he puts it, Trump is the first president in his lifetime to really put this country before wokeness, politics and greed. He supports the President unconditionally. I have another dear friend who is convinced that my ...